


GE2RB: Hiraeth

by bainju



Category: God Eater (Video Games), God Eater 2
Genre: Angst, Aragami - Freeform, F/M, FemProtagonistxJulius, Female Protagonist, GE2RB, God Eater 2 - Freeform, God Eater 2 Rage Burst, Humor, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Romance, god eater - Freeform, scifi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-02-26 03:51:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 48,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13227516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bainju/pseuds/bainju
Summary: Brynn Amaryllis Mercu, a God Eater who is welcomed into Blood after being in a coma for 3 years. A disasterous event causes her to lose her memory. As a member of Blood, she manages to become close to her other teammates, particularly, Blood's captain; Julius Visconti.Will she ever remember who she really was? And will it be just in time to stop what has been destined to her? Or will she be used as a pawn in the game that they were playing in.*I do not own the cover photo, GE2RB and its characters.*Julius Visconti × Female Protagonist





	1. Prologo

_A bright light had consumed all of those in the vicinity. Loud screams could be heard in the midst of chaos that the situation was causing them. Their cri de coeur was further drawing in the nearby monsters that were surrounding them. The luminosity was intensifying as each minute, each second passed them by._

_"Leader!" A female's voice rang through._

_"Stay with us!" Another added, his voice drowning in the clamor._

_"Don't do it!" A rough voice angrily said, the frustration dripping with each word._

_The light intensified even more, in its center was a bright orb of light._

A pair of caramel colored eyes fluttered open, it was met with the blank white ceiling of an unfamiliar and tidy room. The person, a pale yellow-haired girl grunted, the moment that her attempt to sit up had been deterred because of the incredible strain that made itself known to her. She muttered a curse, her throat was dry and her voice was hoarse.

"Do not strain yourself, child." A new voice pierced through the silence. From the corner of her eye, she made out the figure of a blonde haired woman sitting on what appeared to be a wheelchair. Her bright blue eyes held concern and worry, the scar by the corner of her eyes added an intimidating aura to the woman.

The fact that she was dressed in traditional clothes for mourning had added more to that intimidation. The girl paled at the thought of it.

"Am I dead?" The platinum haired girl found her voice, she cringed at who weak and fragile it sounded. She was confident that her original voice wasn't like that. The other blonde gave her an amused look.

"You are very much alive." She giggled, "I did check your stats earlier after all." Now she was even more creeped out.

She looked around the room once again, "Where am I?" She was successfully propped up on one shoulder, her body managed to adjust to the strain that was consuming her. She did a double take on her arm where her red armlet was supposed to be placed. It was now black.

Her head began to spin as tried to recall what exactly had happened, but she could only resurface three things.

Her name. That she was a God Eater. Her armlet was red.

"Well, aren't you a stubborn one." The woman nodded slightly as she continued to look at the bedridden girl. This earned her a quizzical look. "You are in Friar's infirmary." She waited for her to continue explaining.

"You have been asleep for 3 years, Brynn Amaryllis Mercu." Her eyes widened in disbelief, before she could question more, the door slid open to reveal a red haired woman wearing a lab coat.

"Rachel, we have a meeting with-" The redhead halted mid sentence upon seeing the figure who was sitting on the bed. Her eyes held incredulity. She was snapped from her reverie when a hand had been placed over hers. She turned to see the blonde that was previously sitting beside the bed.

"Don't ask her too many questions, sister. Give her time to get used to everything. Didn't you say that we had a meeting to head to?" She softly reminded before turning back to the figure on the bed. "I will have someone pick you up and show you around. I'd like to see if you are still capable of wielding your God Arc. It has been inactive for three years now after all." Brynn remained silent and merely nodded in response. Her head was still in a daze as everything had been happening so suddenly. The two women left the room. The silence arresting her ones again.

Her caramel eyes scanned the room for the nth time, taking in the white beds, green curtains and medical equipment that she wasn't so familiar with. She couldn't help but sigh.

"3 years?" She repeated to herself as she stretched out her right arm and examined her new armlet, gazing at it and waited for answers. She looked over to the side of her bed and noticed the neatly folded clothes. She stood up, managing to balance herself as she took the clothes into her arms, the fabric brushing against her skin. She noticed a door and assumed that it was a bathroom. She dragged herself over to the door and opened to reveal a pristine white bathroom.

If she had been pale before, she grew even paler the moment that her eyes registered the reflection of herself in front of her. She looked like a walking-skeleton, someone unfit to be a God Eater. Her face had hollowed out to further reveal her cheekbones, her collar bones stuck out without much effort. She changed into the uniform, a black uniform that stuck to her skin, and the bottom had not managed to cover every part of her leg. She cursed at whoever designed the flimsy piece of clothing. She brushed a hand through her unruly hair and splashed water on her face. She made her way out of the bathroom, and she had been met with a newcomer.

The young man had blonde hair that was similar to the woman from earlier. Hers was pale and platinum, she found it dull and literally paling in comparison when she was put beside the male. He was wearing baggy pants, a fitted shirt, with a short vest over it. He was also wearing a beanie.

"So you really are finally awake!" He exclaimed as he shot up from the bed that he was seated on. "The name's Romeo." He gave a warm and friendly smile. "Doc Rachel assigned me to show you around, you look like you need to walk around a bit." He gave a cheerful grin, his hands moving around rapidly which made the girl a bit dizzy. "You ready?"

'He sure is talkative.' Brynn thought to herself as she nodded in response. Bowing slightly before she offered her thanks.

"Thank you, Romeo. I hope that I won't be disturbing your schedule or anything."

"Woah!" He was taken aback by the girl's formality. "No need to be so formal!" He added waving his hands rapidly infront of himself. He then turned back to animated self as he walked towards the door, pressing button in order to open it.

"Let's get going. Friar isn't much of a big place, but you definitely will be amazed."

* * *

 

The duo managed to explore most of the areas in Friar; the laboratory area, executive floor, housing areas, lobby and the garden. The garden was turning out to be the female's favorite place and she decided that she would visit it later on. They were currently in the cafeteria, deciding on what to eat.

"I guess that you don't have much credit yet." The blonde male realized and paused for awhile, his face suddenly lit up with an idea running through his head.

"I'll treat you to your first meal in 3 years!" He declared quite loudly. Brynn only smiled at his excitement and eagerness. He reminded her of someone that she used to know, and a certain situation in the past.

_"I've still got a nanosecond of experience over you." An orange blur made itself appear in her vision, they were surrounded by white._

Brynn flinched at the sudden memory that appeared, earning her a look of worry and concern from her companion. "Are you okay?" She nodded and gave a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, it's probably just the hunger." She nodded again, convincing herself, she then gave a wink as she teased, "Didn't you just offer to buy me lunch?" The sudden switch in behavior surprised him but he only chuckled and played along. After that, they managed to converse casually as they proceeded to get their meals and eat.


	2. Uno

"If I had known that you ate that much, I wouldn't have offered to buy you lunch." The blonde openly lamented to his companion who had a triumphant look on her face. The male had spent triple than what he usually does just because of the girl who had an insatiable hunger.

Good thing that he wasn't born during the 2010s and before that, he inwardly cringed at the thought of 'dates' and having to spend that much cash for a single meal, to spend money in order to please another person. He began to question why men, or women, during those times were so willing to do all that. He wouldn't bother to spend a single credit if he were in that situation, he was only forced now because of his own words. 

Unless of course, it was a certain idol he would go on a date with. He would willingly go broke twice just to be in the mere presence of her. That answered all his questions from earlier.

"You just offered someone, who was out cold for three years, a meal. You should have done the math." She snickered as they walked on, the moping God Eater was now escorting her to the training facilities. The doctor had requested to see her performance after 3 years or being on standby. To see that if she was still a match for her God Arc even after changing Armlet.

She felt nervous, would she still know how to wield the weapon? Or would it reject her. It has been so long after all. Numerous thoughts crossed her mind the moment that they arrived in front of the metallic doors. 

"Well, that ends Romeo Leoni's free tour around Friar!" He perked up, breaking the streak of silence that they previously in. He gave a fake salute, making the girl giggle and forget about the thoughts that she had been drowning in. He walked away, bidding her good luck.

It was now or never.

She pushed the door, feeling the coolness spread through her fingers, she had been met with more steel walls, a couple of platforms, and her God Arc in the midst of that all in some sort of storage. The onyx colored scythe, decorated with gold intricate designs called out to her, Auricle was its name. She saw the blast gun that partnered with it, Agrent, and the shield, Cuivre. Her heart began to pound rapidly as she responded to its call. Taking slow and steady steps towards it. 

"I assume that you are well enough to take part in simulated combat, Brynn?" The familiar eerie voice of the doctor came through the speakers. The girl being called, paid no attention to her and continued to advance towards the weapon that beckoned her. She grabbed it by the hilt, the storage previously containing it folding itself to the ground.

It was just her and Auricle.

_"3 rules: Don't die; if you're in danger, run; lastly, hide. If you catch the enemy off guard-"_

_"---! Behind you!" The sound of someone's shield being deployed followed by one crashing hard to the ground echoed in their ears._

_"Well, there you go. Welcome to this Godforsaken place. I'm-"_

The torrents of visions had stopped, Brynn looked around her and saw Aragami imitations around the area. They were all slain. A small giggle had caught her attention.

"That was impressive. It proves that you no longer need extra training or rehabilitation whatsoever." The speaker resonated throughout the entire room, the voice of the woman coming through again. The platinum haired girl look down towards her God Arc and a sense of comfort and warmth washed over her. It had given her a sense of familiarity and of home, despite the foreign place that she was currently in.

"Without further ado, I welcome you to Fenrir's Elite unit, the Blood Special Forces. You will be able to accomplish more than  you ever have." The last line had left her in a state of confusion. 

'What does she mean by that?'

The girl, unwillingly departed without her God Arc. She had been given the rest of the day to explore and rest. She then began to realize how empty and solemn Friar was. She began to look for the male that had kept her company earlier.

"Where's Romeo when you need him." She muttered to herself before entering the elevator. She decided to check the garden once again instead. The flowers and tranquil aura that the garden gave off eased her and captivated her. 

The lift came to a stop at her desired floor, although the garden was encased in a big glass dome, it didn't stop the garden from receiving an appropriate amount of sunlight and warmth. It was serene and peaceful.

"So you've finally awakened?" A voice from the side of the tree had brought her out of a trance caused by the area. Her cheeks stained pink as she looked over to the direction where the voice was coming from. A man with dark blonde hair, sporting regal-looking, violet-dominated clothing stared at her. His grey orbs meeting her caramel-colored orbs. He was sitting beneath the only tree in the garden.

"Why don't you join me?" He referred to the space near him, gesturing towards it. His voice was firm and commanding yet it was gentle at the same time. Brynn did not waste a single second and walked over towhere the male had been sitting, she settled down on the spot somewhat near him. 

They mingled in the comforting aura that the garden brought them, "This is such a peaceful place." Brynn broke the silence that they were in. The man nodded, looking towards the glass dome that they were enclosed in. He gave a delighted and relieved sigh.

"Indeed, this is my favorite place in Friar. I come here when I need to reflect." The silence consumed them again, not that she mided, it was the good kind of silence. The one that she would be comfortable being in.

"How are you feeling?" He asked out of the blue, an attempt to get the conversation going and to break the silence. 

'Was that his attempt to make small talk?'

'Give him credit, Brynn.'

'I can't, I'm broke.'

Upon realizing that she was taking some time to respond and that the male was already looking at her with a concerned look, her face flushed once again. She hastily answered.

"I'm feeling better." She gave a small smile, trying to calm him down or stop him from asking more questions, "Just a bit woozy, and ironically; sleepy." She and the other one laughed carefreely at what the former said. With that, they were able to have a light and easy conversation. 

"I heard about your performance during the assessment test. Congratulations on getting into Blood." He lied, he didn't just hear about it, in fact, he was there the entire time. He watched and observed the way the girl bonded with her God Arc, the way that she brutally decapitated the false Aragami without batting an eyelash. He saw that all from the viewing deck alongside the lame woman.

Despite the distance between them while he watched, he noticed that the female was dazed the entire time. 

"Thank you, uh..." Dead air came as she continued to stare into his grey eyes. "I never got your name?" She awkwardly said in realization. She had been talking with the man for over 20 minutes. And still she never bothered to ask for his name. 

"Oh, you're right. I apologize." He cleared his throat before continuing, "I am Julius Visconti, captain of the Blood Unit." What he said had caused her eyes to widen in shock.

"Ah, no need to get tensed about-" He attempted to ease her.

"Your last name sounds like biscotti!" She cut him off with what she said. This earned the other to be taken aback. He began to notice the relevance and the fact that it did sound that way.

"I suppose that you are right." He finally chuckled upon recognizing. He couldn't help but smile at the cheerfulness that the girl was giving off. At first, she had been a bit quiet and withdrawn, but after a few exchanges of sentences, she could easily and unhesitantly talk with him. 

"I guess that you already know who I am, but for formality sake." She paused and faced him, "I am Brynn Amaryllis Mercu. Pleasure to be in your team, Captain." They continued to talk after that, it only lasted a few minutes before the male rose from his place and dusted the dirt from his pants. 

"Well, I still have some work to finish. I enjoyed conversing with you." He stuck out his hand to help out Brynn. She politely declined with a small smile. 

"I'll head back inside in a little while." She waved her hand. "Good luck with work." She snickered.

The other smiled at her statement before proceeding to walk towards the lift, "I am certain that we will meet again and very soon." He raised an arm in the air, waving, then entered the lift fully disappearing from the girl's view. She shifted a bit against the tree, trying to find a position that would be comfortable. 

The smile that found its way to her face never wavering, her eyes slowly began to close and before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.

_"Blood Beta coming in." The voice echoed in her ears, she couldn't tell who it was coming from as her vision had been consumed by darkness. Only the figure of light would appear every once in awhile. "Target aragami is no longer in the vicinity, however, the injured God Eater has been located. The bias signals that you had picked up earlier were precise." She heard the footsteps shuffling near her. "Requesting for immediate pickup. I have already conducted necessary first aid."_

_She groaned, trying to move and switch sides as she was feeling numb._

_"Roger, your pick up will be there in approximately 20 minutes." Came the voice which seemed to be coming from an earpiece. Her hearing had grown to be extremely sensitive, an adaptation of the body as her sight had been limited. "How is he holding up? No signs of approaching Aragami."_

_"She is stable and responsive." She felt a warm finger press against the side of heard head that joined with the neck, whoever that person was, was feeling her pulse. "Her pulse is faster than the usual, but will most-likely regulate. I will be moving her to a safer location." The person on the other line had said something but she could no longer decipher it. She felt a pair of arms, snake themselves under her legs and back, carrying her bridal style._

_She could only hear the crushing of dirt under the other's shoes. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes, until the unknown person had laid her down on grass. She felt bandages being wrapped around parts of her body that was going through a lot of strain. The male had stopped after a couple of minutes, when the sound of helicopter propellers had made themselves known. The strong pair of arms had picked her up once again._

Her eyes fluttered open to reveal that she was no longer in the garden, rather, in a dim and new room. She presumed that it was her own room. She checked the clock and saw that it was already 3 in the morning. Heading outside to explore was the least of her options.

Or she thought so.

She struggled to fall asleep, she tossed and turned, forcefully closing her eyes, counting Ogretails jumping over some pseudo-fence, it was all to no avail. She sat up, in the process, knocking down some pillows that had been arranged around her bed.

'Who brought me here anyways?' She noticed that she was in her nightclothes, consisting of a pair of shorts and a grey tank top. She dismissed the thought and continued to scan the empty and silent room.

"I must have fallen asleep too early yesterday." She figured. She stood up before she could think of deeper and more serious thoughts that would deprive her of the capability to sleep. She stretched, feeling some of the joints pop with each action, yawning loudly. Her stomach made a loud growling sound that she thought could rival a Vajra's.

"So apparently, I can recall Aragami names but not the people who I knew? Nice one, brain. Well played." She argued with herself while walking towards the door that was the exit. She was met with a hallway that had more doors, and at the end of it, was a lift. 

She whimpered and trudged lazily, "Where am I going to find food here?" Before she could reach the elevator, the smell of something delicious had caught her eye, or nose. 

She followed the scent, her sense of smell had multiplied, and was lead to one of the rooms that the door had been slightly ajar. Her manners and courtesy had been stripped away by her hunger, she pushed the door open and peaked inside. There she saw a girl with short black hair that had been formed to resemble cat ears. She had dark pink eyes, matching the pajamas she had been wearing. In her hand, was a foot long sandwich that Brynn had been gazing at with longing.

"Ah!" The black-haired girl noticed her, stopping as she was about to bite into her sandwich. "You must have smelt my odenpan!" Her pink eyes widened in panic. "I'll give you one if you promise not to tell anyone that I've been sneaking food in the middle of the night!" She taunted while pulling out another one from aragami-knows where, and flashed it in front of the starving girl.

'Don't mind if I do.' She thought to herself as she let herself in and closed the door behind her. She walked up to the girl and got the bread that had been handed over to her willingly.

Talk about restrain.

"Thank you..." She breathed as she looked at the sandwich in awe. 

"No worries!" The other grinned genuinely. "I was planning to give you one anyways." This earned a quizzical look from the blonde. 'What did she mean by that?' 

She cocked her head to the side, nearly forgetting the sandwich in her hand. 

"You are Brynn Amaryllis Mercu, right?" The black-haired girl asked to confirm, said girl nodded in response to her name. She took in the sandwich. The bread was soft as well as the shrimp and other seafood that was inside of it, the delicate taste making itself known in her mouth. "I'm Nana Kozuki! Blood's newest recruit. I arrived the day before you woke up. Romeo told me allll about you!" 

The last part nearly made her gag, the male probably ranted about her appetite and that probably prompted the girl to giving her a sandwich.

They both finished their sandwiches, Nana finishing first in a pace that made her appear beast-like. Brynn took double the time, finding it hard to shovel down the bread into her mouth despite the hunger that she was going through.

The two continued to talk a bit more, before the intruder had noticed that Nana was growing to be sleepy. Her eyes slowly drooping as each second passed.

"Nana, I really appreciate the food and your time, but I don't want to deprive you of your rest." She made her way towards the door, and just as she was going to say goodnight, the girl that she was talking to had already zonked out on the bed. She smiled in amusement, gently closing the door without a sound, and went back to her room with footsteps echoing down the hallway. She plopped down on her bed, and allowed the darkness to take over her. She drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 

In one of the spacious rooms that had been constructed on Friar, someone had been going through confidential articles and locked files.

"Ah, who would have known?" The whimsical voice resonated with the metal pipes in the room's ceiling. Figure looming over the laptop that had multiple tabs opened.

"Allow yourself to bloom in peace one last time, little flower on the hill. The strong winds of terror are bound to whisk you away very soon."


	3. Due

During the next few days, the blonde had been subjected to multiple medical examinations, as well as a couple of tune-ups for her God Arc. Her first and only God Arc had been upgraded into a third and second generation prototype. It had some tweaks and would require constant observation in case that it would experience complications as it was still in the developing stage. The reason why she refused to change it was because of the attachment that she claimed she had with it. Fortunately, the God Arc engineers complied to her wants and managed to modify it instead. Currently, she was making her way towards Friar’s silent lobby. She was requested to talk with Fran, the branch’s operator. 

 

“Morning, Fran!” She greeted with a jolly smile, “Finally going to throw me into the lions?” She joked causing the other to chuckle. Despite the light small talk that they were having, she remained focus on typing. She stopped and turned the screen towards the platinum haired girl. 

 

“You are to defeat 5 Ogretails that are roaming around the Abandoned City.” The young operator informed her as she closed in on the screen, she noticed the two names that were labelled with yellow and blue.

 

Julius Visconti and Nana Kozuki. This caused the girl’s lips to curl upwards, she realized that she had not seen the two since the first time they met, which had been about a week now. She would have lunch with Romeo on some occasions, said male was thrilled and relieved at the fact that her appetite had normalized. Often joking that Friar would run out of rations because of the monstrosity that she called her appetite, this earned Romeo a couple of bruises here and there. Despite the size of Friar, she would rarely run into the other two.. This made her wonder if there was some spell casted on her that would repel the Captain and the recruit. 

 

‘I probably deserve that after comparing some guy’s last name to a dessert and sneaking into someone’s room in the middle of the night just for food.’ She bemused, not noticing the way that the operator was looking at her who had to clear her thought just to get her to snap from her daydreaming. 

 

“Ah, when do we depart?” She pulled away from the screen to look at the other blonde. She faced the screen back and continued to type. 

 

“Captain Julius has already gone ahead, he came from another mission which happened to be near the area. As soon as Kozuki arrives, you are to leave.” The moment that she said those words, the black-haired girl that they previously talking about had made an appearance. 

 

She was panting, indicating that she had ran, “Sorry I’m late!” She bowed with her hands on her knees. “I’m ready to go.” She stood up properly, her breath finally normalizing. Fran then briefed her as Brynn decided to head to the God Arc storage area. She carried Auricle towards the departure area, soon followed by her companion who was clad in an extremely revealing and bare outfit. Brynn couldn’t help but stare, a wave of nostalgia washing over her. 

 

“Earth to Brynn!” Nana snapped her out of her reverie, “Are you ready to head out?” She asked with a bright smile. Brynn nodded with a bright blush on her face as she muttered a yes. They made their way to the helicopter.

 

‘Great, she must think that I’m a perv or something. But she does have a great rack.’

  
  


The two arrived at the point of rendezvous, they walked towards the edge of the cliff where the captain of their unit stood watching. His eyes training themselves on the aragami loafing around below them. 

 

“Captain Julius!” Nana ran up to him with a wide grin, waving her free arm in the air as she dragged her Boost Hammer with one arm. Brynn followed close behind, her excitement was more toned down than the former but the smile remained fixed on her face. 

 

“Good morning, Nana.” Julius formally said as he nodded his head towards the scythe wielder’s direction, acknowledging her. 

 

Brynn returned the nod, “Good morning, Captain.” She finally spoke up.

 

“I hope that neither of you are feeling uneasy after the journey, I know that helicopter rides can get a bit shaky. We all need to be on the tip of our toes.” Before any of the two females could reply, a creature suddenly sprang from behind ready to attack. Nana shrieked, closing her eyes as a reflex, Brynn switched to her gun and shot it before it could harm any of them. A loud thud had been heard the Ogretail fell to the ground.

 

“You have very good reflexes, Brynn.” Julius praised, his eyes slightly widened. This time, another one jumped out. Brynn cursed because of the lack of OP that she had, instead, she covered her cowering companion to take the impact or the attack.

 

She had her back turned as she braced for the impact, her eyes tightly shut closed as she waited. It never came. She heard a soft chuckle prompting her to turn around, her eyes widening in surprise. The Ogretail was latched unto her captain’s forearm. He had a smug smile as if it were nothing. 

 

‘What the fuck?’ The man then tossed the bipedalled beast into the air and sliced through it with his long blade, as if it was as light as a feather. She now knew why he held the position of captain. He wasn’t just responsible, he was pretty strong too.

 

“Two done, three to go.” He announced, his voice remained calm despite the two attacks. This did not stop Brynn from seeing the blood that was pouring out of his arm. Despite God Eaters having exceptional healing abilities, wounds still hurt and it would take awhile. 

 

She approached him, getting something from the pouch that had been strapped to her thigh, “Before we proceed, do allow me to fix that.” It was more of an order rather than a suggestion. Julius acquiesced, his grey eyes fixated on his left arm that was currently being patched up by the girl. 

 

She finished, managing to stop the bleeding and properly bandage it. Julius flexed her arm a bit to check whether it was getting in his way. “Thank you.” Brynn gave a cheeky grin and a winked before she joked shamelessly.

 

“What about treat me to lunch later?” She prompted, half-joking. This caused the other’s eyes to widen, before it closed with a smile playing on his lips.

 

“Very well, it can be arranged. I’m clear for the day anyways.” The other smiled widely, while the black-haired girl behind them watched the exchange with amusement and curiosity. 

 

“Very well,” Julius turned to face the greenland with multiple demolished buildings that scattered around. “Let’s begin.” He jumped down, followed by his two female companions. 

 

There were three Ogretails walking around, devouring on whatever edible scraps that they could feast upon. Their attention diverted towards the three God Eaters, causing them to roar in an enraged manner. Brynn was the first to reach her target, swinging Auricle with strength and power, greatly damaging the Ogretail who backed away in pain. After a couple more swings with her Scythe, the enemy had been taken down. The other two still dealing with theirs. She switched to her gun to provide back-up, aiming alternately at the two Ogretails. 

 

“Behold the Blood Art!” Julius shouted, his blade was now bathing in red and black as he swung his blade with extreme speed, precision, and power. He cut through the Ogretail multiple times without slowing down. The moment that he stopped, the beast roared one last time before it had been silenced, falling to the ground. 

 

Dead.

 

“Woah!” Nana was the first to react, just finishing her Ogretail as well, smashing its skull multiple times with her hammer. “That was amazing.” She said in awe making her way over to the captain.

 

Julius began to explain more about Blood Power and Blood Art, Brynn had only been half listening. Her head was starting to throb but she masked it by putting on a blank face. Fortunately, her captain had not asked her anything or else they would have known that she was not listening. The three proceeded to walk over to the extraction area. 

“I would have brought a novel if I knew that it would have taken such short time.” Julius sighed displeasure at his own forgetfulness. He would always forget that group missions in this rank would usually require a short amount of time to accomplish. They would be stuck in the waiting point for quite some time. He mentally scolded himself.

 

“Here.” He caught the book that had been chucked at him by a certain platinum-haired girl. He caught it with ease and brought it near to his face, reading the title.

 

“The Lilac Sage?” He read the title out loud with inquisitiveness. 

 

Brynn nodded before describing the book, “It’s about an extremely competitive culinary school during the 2010s. It sounds boring but I find it worth reading.” Her brief explanation had him nodding with acceptance. 

 

“Aren’t you going to read it?” He asked, not wanting the girl to suffer the boredom that their waiting would provide them with. He had to suffer through that multiple times. The girl waved her hand in an dismissive manner with a small yawn. 

 

They made it to the pick-up point which was also the starting point. She made her way towards one of the boulders and slid down, leaning against it. 

 

“Don’t worry, I plan on sleeping.” She shifted a bit to fix her position, Julius stood across her, leaning against the stone walls as he began to read his book. Brynn placed her God Arc in its gun form and closed her weary eyes. 

 

Julius couldn’t help but notice that the girl was going to sleep, “For someone who has been sleeping for 3 years, you prioritize your siestas.” He remarked with amusement but had not received a reply, the girl had been pulled into the arms of sleep almost instantly. He now was too engrossed in the book that had been lent to him by the said girl. Their other teammate was busy munching on the comical sandwich that she always summoned from the white bag that she usually brought. They stayed in silence until the hour was up, their pick up had arrived.

 

Julius noticed that his companion was not being roused from her sleep despite the loud helicopter, he made his way over to her, gently nudging her shoulder. “Brynn, it’s time to proceed back to Friar.” Her caramel eyes fluttered open to lock with his grey ones. She blinked rapidly.

 

“I’m up.” She begrudgingly pushed herself up, stretching her arms in the process. She remembered her God Arc and followed after the two who entered helicopter. 

 

* * *

 

The trio arrived at Friar, storing their God Arcs in the storage area. Nana had gone separate from them in order to attend lectures. Lectures that Brynn was exempted from because of the profound knowledge that she managed to carry over despite her memory loss. The two had been left alone.

 

“Well then,” Julius broke the pregnant silence as they walked down the stairs, “Shall we go for lunch? I do have a promise to uphold.” He gestured to his bandaged arm. Causing the blonde to put a diffident look on her face, which turned to a small smile. 

 

“I was just kidding about that!” She replied, a blush appearing on her cheeks, causing her companion to slightly smirk.

 

“It’s fine, really. It will be a good way for me to get to know you.” After a little bit more of coaxing, they made their way towards the cafeteria. 

 

“Friar is said to have greater food quality in comparison to the other branches.” He explained as he used a chopstick to pick up a vegetable at the side of his dish. He got steamed fish. “The worst being the Far East, despite them being the front lines.” He stuffed it into his mouth, chewed then swallowed before continuing. “However, I heard that there has been advancement in their rations.” 

 

Brynn stuffed a piece of chicken into her mouth, it was juicy and soft, she hummed in delight, “I suppose that I’m lucky that I ended up here then. The food is great!” Her words held true as Julius watched the way she ate her food, she clearly was enjoying it.

 

“Your God Arc seems to be made of rare Aragami.” Julius tried to strike a conversation after he had finished his fish, they had been talking about food nonstop. The new recruit turned out to be a food fanatic. 

 

Brynn swallowed her food before answering, “I checked it’s stats earlier, and saw that it’s mostly Aether and Hannibal.” She explained, Julius’ full attention was upon her. She had her eyes looking up as she thought of what other materials her God Arc was made of. “I honestly can’t remember the other materials, I’ll have to check it out later.”

 

The dark blonde couldn’t help but be in a state of disbelief, if she was capable of having those materials, it would mean that she wasn’t just a rookie. Her fighting style did scream experience. The fact that she had high-level materials just showed that she also encountered those Aragami previously. God Eaters usually kept their materials to themselves, to sell or to use to upgrade their equipment. No one would have given her materials like those. 

 

“You must have been an exemplary God Eater from wherever you first originated.” He mused, this prompted the other one to sigh with a small smile following after. The male had noticed this, “Perhaps, I could provide support in unearthing what branch you came from.” Her face lit up, she gave him a genuine smile this time.

 

“Thank you. That means a lot, captain.” 

 

Julius nodded, “No need to be so formal, Julius will do.”

 

“Alright, Julius.” She tested the name, “Thank you so much for lunch!” She gave her thanks once again. Julius chuckled softly.

 

They both stood up now, walking over to the rack where they would leave the trays, “I look forward to the next time.” He hinted at another lunch or chat that didn’t involve being in the battlefield. They made their way out and went their separate ways. 

 

Julius made his way to his room, he needed to finish a couple of mission reports that had been piling up. He made his way to his terminal and began typing away. He managed to finish it all within 2 hours with breaks in between. His left arm was still a bit strained after using it to block the Ogretail. 

 

‘Why did I do that in the first place?’ He scolded himself, he could have just cut through it. He decided to use his freaking arm. 

 

Deciding that it was time to start on the promise that he made earlier, he began looking at the different branches. Basing on her last name and starting with European branches; the one in France, Germany, Belgium, etc. None had information in regards to the blonde girl. He checked North and South America branches, but still no answers to his questions.

 

Just as he was about to check the branches in Asia, a knock on the door had caused him to close his terminal. Cursing at the thought that he may have forgotten to save that last report.

 

“Come in.” He managed to calmly call out, the door opened slowly to reveal the second person to join Blood, Romeo. 

 

“Sorry to interrupt, Julius, but Doc Rachel is asking for you.” He casually said as only half his body could be seen through the door. Julius sighed in relief.

 

“I’ll be there.” He gave a curt nod, “Thank you, Romeo.” Said male gave him a thumbs up and gently closed the door. Julius gathered the folders which contained other reports and documents, then proceeded towards the outside. He looked back at the terminal before saying.

 

“I suppose that you have to wait a bit longer.” 


	4. Tre

The succeeding days came as a blur for Brynn. It was nearly the same thing everyday; go on two to three missions, majority of them being with Julius who she had grown quite familiar and close to, lunch on her own or with any of the three Blood members, then would head out to train in the field or the simulator rooms, sometimes the gym which was rarely used. 

 

Currently, she had just gotten back from a mission, a mission where she had to exterminate a Konguo on her own. She would have requested for a companion, but the three had gone out on a group mission without her. (She slept in.) She stretched her sore arms, that had been abused after having to slash through the ape-like aragami multiple times, wanting to head to the shower and take a nap in her room or in the garden. Fortunately, she had been granted the rest of the day as a free day.

 

“Hey! It’s Brynn, you’re back!” Romeo called out to her as she made her way down, about to proceed to the elevator which lead to the housing area. Although she was usually happy conversing with her fellow Blood from time to time, this definitely wasn’t one of those times. She fought the urge to release a groan.

 

‘Maybe if I pretend not to notice him.’ Her plan had been foiled when she heard another voice join the fray.

 

“Brynn, you made it back! You should have joined us earlier!” It was Nana’s turn to speak, for the first time other than in battle, the platinum-haired girl did not see a sandwich in her clutches. Her stomach rumbled at the thought. She gave them both a small and tired smile in response, hoping that they would notice.

 

They didn’t.

 

She was forced to join their small circle as they discussed, “I was just telling Nana here that she shouldn’t just rush in, isn’t that right?” He was looking for Brynn to side with him. Although she understood Romeo’s reasoning, Nana spoke up before she could give her answer.

 

“Sounds like chicken to me!” She began to make chicken sounds as she teasingly neared the blonde male. 

 

‘Mmmm… Chicken.’ Brynn got briefly distracted by the thought of food. She had been shaken out of her food fantasy when Romeo shrieked and got pushed on to her. This resulted to her hitting whoever was behind her causing her to panic.

 

She spun around and bowed to the person who she bumped, “I’m so sorry.” She apologized, when she looked up, her eyes met a petite brown haired girl who wore a simple white dress. Unfortunately for her, the girl she bumped into was accompanied by two authorities in Friar.

 

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Came the enraged voice of the director, he glared indignantly at the trio before turning back to his guest with a gentle and apologetic look. “I apologize for their behavior, Ms. Yuno. These children are only good at slaying aragami or whatever they do.” He insulted them harshly, Brynn glowered but bit her tongue.

 

“Now, now…” It was the redhead’s turn to scold them, but in a gentle manner. “No horseplay in the lobby, we don’t want to disturb our important guest.” She gave a knowing look to Brynn who was now calm. They nodded in response and voiced their apologies. They left immediately, making their way to the elevator.

 

Nana stared at their blonde companion with a questioning look. The boy was staring dreamily at his own hand, she leaned over to Brynn who had been rubbing her sore arm, “I think that we lost Romeo.” 

 

“Don’t you know who she is?! That’s Yuno Ashihara!” He prattled, loud enough for the girl being talked about to hear. She turned towards them, making eye contact with Brynn. Not wanting to appear rude, Brynn returned with a small smile.

 

“I’ll be heading out now.” She announced in the midst of Romeo’s babbling, after hearing him say that he wouldn’t be taking a bath, it reminded her of her own need of a bath.

 

“Brynn! I was just kidding.” He bawled, trying to reach out to the departing girl but she had moved her arm away just in time, she turned slightly and stuck her tongue out. Nana giggled at the childish behavior that was being displayed.

 

“Unlike you, I actually prefer keeping myself clean.” She was standing in front of the elevator which lead to the housing area. 

 

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity!” He said in exasperation. Brynn no longer heard what he said as she entered the lift. She pressed the floor where Blood unit had been assigned to.

 

* * *

 

“Finally, a bath and sleep.” She muttered as she exited the shower, she got dressed in the empty and clean room and began to walk towards her room, her towel and toiletries in hand. The moment that she was going to unlock the door and step in, a hand reached over the knob before she could. This caused her to jump a bit and yelp. She dropped her towel and punched whoever had surprised her in the gut.

 

Her eyes widened upon realizing who it was.

 

“Oh my gosh, Captain Bisco- I mean, Visconti! I’m so sorry!” She panicked as the male was hunched on the floor, the look of pain was evident on his face. He groaned, clutching the part where she hit him as she stared at him while he was standing up.

 

“How many cups of coffee did you have this morning?” He asked jokingly despite the pain that he was feeling. He couldn’t help but find the irony in being able to slay aragami without breaking a sweat, but get brought down by a girl who was 4 inches smaller than him. 

 

Brynn sighed in relief at the fact that he wasn’t that hurt. He was but the point was he didn’t pass out, right? She then looked back to what happened this morning.

 

_ “Hey, can I have 3 cups of coffee?” A zombiefied caramel-eyed girl made her way over to the counter. Eyebags made themselves at home under her orbs. Her hair was unruly and had a comb sticking out, a bunch of other things. _

 

_ The woman behind the cashier wouldn’t usually allow 3 servings of coffee to one person, but judging by the way the girl looked, she needed it. _

 

_ Badly. _

 

“Uh, I don’t think that you need to know.” She heard the male grumbling something that went along the lines of ‘I should have them limit her caffeine intake’ which she ignored. The captain managed to stand properly and summon a small smile.

 

“I was intending to ask you if you were capable of doing a mission with me. It seems that you are in need to do something about your ‘sugar rush’.” He didn’t notice the horrified look on the girl’s face as he turn around, making his way towards the elevator, “I’ll be waiting for you downstairs, it’s just a small clearing mission.” Before she could protest, the man had already entered the elevator and made his way down. She groaned in annoyance.

 

“I’m gonna make him treat me chicken.” She sighed and deposited her stuff in her room before she followed.

* * *

 

They arrived at their destination, the City of Mercy, which ironically wasn’t merciful at all. Quite the opposite, actually.

 

“They couldn’t think of better names.” She muttered under her breath as she suppressed a yawn. She dropped Auricle and began stretching, her limbs were still sore from earlier. Julius was too busy talking on his comm to reply to her.

 

“Blood Beta coming in, can you read me? We have arrived at the location.” Fran’s voice came in loud and clear, Brynn could hear her in her own comm as well. 

 

“Your targets for this mission will be a lone Kongou and several Zygotes. I will send the coordinates to your map, they are spread around the area but I suggest going as a team with one backing the other up.” A red faded box appeared on Julius’ eyepiece. “Currently, only Zygotes are present, however, research squad has found the Kongou on its way. ETA 4 minutes.” 

 

Brynn loaded her new bullets as she listened, she chose the blaze and spark elements knowing that it would be effective to both the ape and the flying egg. She chirped to herself as she patted her Agrent, “This will be the perfect time to test them.” She then stood beside Julius who had just finished loading his as well.

 

He looked over at the female before he informed her, “You will be taking the lead, I’ll serve as your support.” Brynn gave an excited grin. 

 

“Roger that, Captain.” She concurred with a tease and jumped off the cliff, Julius following close behind her as they made their way to where most of the Zygotes had gathered. They were in the most spacious place in the entire city, she aimed at the cluster of flying eggs.

 

“I’ll be having you for lunch!” She bellowed as she pushed the trigger, a barrage of red and violet bullets raining down on them. The Zygotes screeched in both pain and anger as the bullets exploded on impact, red liquid splattering on the ground below them. Some had fallen, those that had been directly hit by the bullets, the others charged. 

 

Her gun stopped but she took note of the bullets coming from behind her, she quickly switched to her scythe and sprinted as fast as she could, slashing through the Zygotes in midair. Blood was getting everywhere with each slash as they decreased in number. 

 

“Brynn!” She heard her companion’s cry, she spun and just as she did, she was hit by a big ball of air that came at her, hitting her which caused her to fall to the ground.

 

“Damnit.” She cursed as her God Arc had been knocked to the side, a few meters away from her. She looked and saw that the ape was rolling towards her, she scampered to get up, ignoring the strain that was pulling her down. She ran, narrowly missing the Kongou which continued to target her. She managed to pick up her God Arc and brought out her shield just in time for an attack.

 

“You smell Kongou blood on me.” She taunted, she did just kill one of its kind earlier. As if the aragami had understood her, it roared and continued to charge again. She dodged just in time, dashed to its tail and slashed through it, managing to unbound the tail. It roared aggressively and attempted to belly flop on her. She avoided it by stepping backwards.

 

She dashed far away and switched to her gun, she aimed and began to fire, seeing that her OP levels were now refilled. She was distracted, and before she knew it, she had been attacked by another flying egg from behind her. She groaned in annoyance and aimed at it instead, with Julius dealing melee attacks to the gigantic ape.

 

“Brynn! Health readings are extremely low, fall back and heal!” The blonde ignored the operator’s voice and began charging towards the Kongou, whose face and windpipes were extremely damaged and beyond recognition, she slashed rapidly, dodging its attempts to attack.

 

She nearly got hit by another ball of wind when her companion had pulled her away just in time, “Be careful.” He reminded before continuing to attack, Brynn switched to her gun to support the Captain. Within a couple of more minutes, the Kongou had been brought down.

 

Dead.

* * *

Julius was concentrating on the Ape-like Aragami as his predator began eating away happily. Its own core glowed bright blue before turning back to the usual orange color, he examined the materials that had been extracted.

 

“Great work, Brynn.” He turned his head to face her after she did not respond, his eyes widened upon seeing how worn out the girl was, he rushed to her.

 

“Are you alright?” He asked, voice full of concern as he examined for any major injuries. All he could see was a few cuts and scratches her and there, bruises, but nothing that brought him too much worry. He then realized, checking their health levels.

 

“It’s the poison…” He realized upon seeing how low the girl’s health was and the small purple image which was beside her name. 

 

“I’m fine.” She weakly said, she was partially telling the truth, she couldn’t feel pain but she felt how drained and tired she was. She attempted to stand up, only resulting with her staggering, causing her back to hit the wall. “Damnit.” She cursed under her breath.

 

The male bent down in order to swing her arm over his shoulder, “We need to head to the extraction point. We’ll patch you up there.” He firmly said as they began to walk towards where they came. “I believe that I still have some detox pills.” He couldn’t check as both his hands were occupied. His left arm was carrying his God Arc while the right was wrapped around the female’s waist. 

 

Upon realizing how slow they were walking, Julius stopped and looked at the physically drained girl, “It will be easier if you climb on my back. Just hold on to your God Arc, alright?” He then ducked under her arm so that it landed on his shoulder, waiting for her other arm to wrap around his shoulders. 

 

Brynn was usually adamant when it came to things like this, but she knew not to disagree with the captain as it would make things worse. She wrapped her arms around the male’s shoulders and buried her head into the sun-kissed hair. She breathed in, taking in his scent which somehow wasn’t anything near gross or showing signs that he had broken a sweat. It was refined, matching the princely aura that he gave off.

 

‘Wait, princely aura?’ She cursed herself, her head began to hurt so she tightly closed her eyes instead of arguing with herself even more. 

 

“I’m sorry for being such a burden, Julius.” She whispered in embarrassment. Further burying her face into his collar which caused an accidental blush on the other’s face. 

 

Julius thanked the heavens that she couldn’t see how flustered he was, “Don’t worry about it, however,I believe that we need to have you checked when we return to Friar. Are you feeling any pain?” 

 

The girl paused for a while, thinking deeply, when she realized that she was just feeling numb and tired, but not once did she feel pain. She hasn’t in a long while.

 

“No…” Her voice trailed off. The male lowly hummed in thought, just as he thought.

 

Julius was glad that being a God Eater granted them an increase in strength, however, he could feel the girl’s weight taking toll on his back. They were almost near the extraction point, “Brynn, you’ve gain weight. It must be from all the free meals you’re getting.” He got smacked on the head. 

 

He wasn’t expecting that.

 

“You jerk! You don’t tell girl’s that they’re gaining weight.” She muttered the last part in annoyance, that was extremely rude of him to say. She wanted to chew his head off, she had the chance to at the moment but he would drop her if she did.

 

“My apologies, was there anything with what I said?” She just hit him on the head but he still managed to remain composed. 

Brynn sighed, besides the captain being formal and an intelligent human being, he was pretty clueless from time to time. She wouldn’t be surprised if he thought that some bizarre tree existed or something along those lines.

 

They remained silent, Brynn had drifted off to sleep by the time that they arrived. Julius gently laid her down on the ground as and set their weapons beside each other, where they could reach just in case. He shuffled through his various healing items in search of the pill that he needed. He sighed in relief when he managed to find one and a couple of restore pills. He kneeled beside the sleeping girl and lifted her head up, “Here you go, Brynn.” Her lips parted, allowing him to slip in the pills. She gently roused from her sleep after swallowing them.

 

“Ugh, that tastes disgusting.” She groaned as she rubbed her eyes, she began to feel the strain disappear as she stretched her arms, “But it’s effective.” She nodded in approval. Julius sighed in relief.

 

“Don’t strain yourself, Brynn.” He warned the girl as she tried to stand up, she ended up falling again, her legs still wobbly after being carried for a few moments, she landed on something soft, which happened to be her unit captain. 

 

Her back was against his lap, she looked up and saw how worry had marred his usually relaxed face, “I’m so sorry, Julius…” She was ashamed, she let her guard down multiple times and had to be pulled away by him multiple times, she had to be carried. 

 

Julius shifted so that their position was more comfortable, he sighed slightly, “I should be the one apologizing, as unit captain, I should have noticed your strain earlier. I asked you to accompany me on this mission. And the mission wouldn’t have been a success without you.” Before the girl could argue, Julius pressed on his receiver.

 

“Requesting for immediate pick-up, mission has been accomplished successfully.” 

 

“Your pick-up is on the way, it’s coming from Friar so estimated time will be 30 minutes.” The operator’s voice disappeared, he looked down to see that the girl had fallen asleep. He chuckled lightly, before grabbing the book that was stuffed inside one of his pouches, he began reading.

* * *

Brynn’s eyes opened but squinted immediately as bright lights filled her vision. She tried to adjust to them, thanks to being used to Stun Grenades, it didn’t take long.

 

“My, my, I never expected you to be back here so soon.” She turned to the side and her eyes met with bright blue ones. “You have caused Julius extreme worry. It’s been awhile since he’s been so concerned. He requested that I run tests on you.” The woman clad in black added.

 

“Test?” She looked at her quizzically, “But why?” She sat up, her body was no longer too drained to function. She noticed that a large portion of her forearms had been wrapped in bandage. She turned back to the woman who was looking at a tabloid.

 

“The part of your brain which is supposed to be reacting to pain isn’t functioning properly.” She reached over and pinched the girl’s side. “Do you feel anything?” She asked, a sweet smile playing on her lips. Brynn’s eyes widened.

 

She felt the action but that was it, “I… I didn’t…” After all the missions that she had gone to, she never came to realize that. The doctor’s soft giggles snapped her out of her thoughts.

 

“This is both a blessing and a curse.” She announced with a sly smile playing on her face. “You are free to have your dinner.” She turned and rolled over towards the door, “I am certain that Julius will be ecstatic to see you. Also, do assist in welcoming your new brother tomorrow.” She then left, leaving the girl even more confused.

 

Brynn stood up, fixing the bed sheets and disarrayed pillows. She trudged towards the cafeteria where she saw Nana and Romeo eating. Romeo had noticed her arrival and rapidly waved her arms in the air. His noise had no longer annoyed or irritated the others in the area. The platinum-haired girl gave a small smile and walked towards them. Willingly this time.

 

“How you doing? We heard what happened.” Nana was the first to question the girl. 

 

“Doc Rachel told us about your medical report too.” Romeo added with pity somewhat shimmering in his eyes. “Whatever had caused you to lose one of you senses must have been an intense event or something.” 

 

Pity. She hated it. She hated being pitied. 

 

_ “Poor child, destined to die the moment that she’s been born.” _

 

_ “Didn’t she come from an elite family? How devastating that she’s fated to be one of them.” _

 

_ “The moment that she steps into the battlefield, she’s dead.” _

 

Brynn inwardly cringed at the sudden flow of energy, “I’m alright.” She gave a small reassuring smile at the two, she then perked up upon realizing what she was there for, “Ah, have you two seen captain?” A cheeky grin appeared on Romeo’s face.

 

“Getting all chummy now, aren’t we?” He teased. In response, Brynn rolled her eyes and skillfully sneaked the knife on the table into her hand. She threateningly tossed it in the air and caught in repeatedly. This caused Romeo to swallow the lump in his throat and to shy away, his black-haired companion giggled.

 

“Hey now, Brynn…” He raised his hands defensively in the air as the girl glared daggers at him, “I treated you your first lunch, remember?” He squeaked the moment that Brynn placed the knife down, near him. She turned towards Nana.

 

“He said that he would be resting in his room, I think?” The female blonde nodded in response and began to proceed to the kitchen, her teammates looking at her with curiosity.

 

“Wonder if they’ll allow me to use the kitchen.” 


	5. Quattro

“Damnit.” Julius cursed as big red letters flashed on the screen of his laptop for the nth time that afternoon. 

 

He was currently trying to gain access to the confidential files of the Far East Branch, them having the most in comparison to the other branches which brought him great suspicion. However, he was incapable of accessing them. He made an presumption that the records of MIA God Eaters had been hidden away as the database was extremely lacking. 

 

A knock on the door released him from his thoughts.

 

“Come in.” He announced, not looking up from his laptop to see who it was, the door cracked open to reveal the once comatosed girl. The door opened a bit more to reveal the tray which she had been carrying in her hands.

 

“Cap- I mean- Julius, are you busy?” She gently asked before she let herself in and closed the door with her elbow. In her hands, was a slice of cake and a cup of coffee. The male stared at it with curiosity.

 

“Not at all, I was just about to check on you. But it seems that you found your way here.” He closed his laptop and made his way other to the newcomer, “What is that?” He asks, looking at the delicate-looking cake that had tantalized him. 

 

“Uhm…” Brynn paused for a while, thinking of what to say, “I wanted to show my thanks somehow for tending to me earlier. Also, an apology for all the trouble that I’ve caused you.” She looked down at the tray, “The cake is a White Chocolate Semifreddo and the coffee is brewed from Kona beans. I wasn’t sure of what you preferred eating. I apologize if my choices had been poor.”

 

Julius couldn’t help but smile at the girl in front of him, she was usually so outgoing and loud, but this time she seemed bashful. It was a rare occurrence for her to ask in such a way.

 

“Thank you, Brynn.” He began and took the tray into his hands, gesturing for the girl to take a seat, “I am delighted at the thought that you put a lot of effort into this, I hope that you didn’t strain yourself doing so.” He placed the tray on the desk that he had, “Do join me, I believe that you are exhausted after preparing all of this.” 

 

They took their seats across of each other, “Semifreddo?” He repeated the name of the dish as he picked up the fork, “I haven’t had this in a long while.” He gently cut through the cake then slowly placed a piece into his mouth. The sweetness awakening his taste buds as he continued to savor the flavor and texture.

 

Brynn waited for a response, a mixture of nervousness and anticipation. It was the first time that she baked something since she woke up. She somehow managed to remember some recipes that were stored in her mind the moment that she picked up a knife. A memory flashed in her thoughts the moment that she stepped into the kitchen.

 

_ “Brynn made cookies for us again!” An excited voice echoed in the room, an orange making its way over to her. It was the voice of a young man whom she thought she had heard before. Another blur of silver and red came over. _

 

_ “How sweet of you! I always look forward to your baked goods.” It was a female’s voice this time, sounding extremely happy. _

 

_ “You better not stop being a God Eater just to work in the kitchen, alright?” A brown blur from the sides piped in, alongside was a black and green blur a bit farther was a blue figure. What the brown figure had said elicited laughter from the others. _

 

“How is it?” Brynn asked upon seeing that the entire slice had been finished, while the male just took a sip from the coffee. The female sighed in relief, there was a delighted and satisfied look on the other’s face.

 

“I invited you to eat with me and still I finished off everything.” Julius announced as he placed his cup down, a very unnoticeable pink had stained his cheeks. Despite being the refined, calm and collected person that he was, he was still a God Eater. Which equated to the voracious appetite that the fighters had been bestowed with. Especially now since he hasn’t eaten since they left for the mission. He was too worried, and had been piled up with task.

 

His statement prompted the other to chuckle softly, “It’s really alright, Julius. I made it for you after all.”

 

“It’s superb.” He complimented while looking towards the empty plate, “It reminds me of my childhood.” Brynn noticed the sadness that lingered on his eyes as he said that. 

“Well, I’m here to listen if you need anyone to open up to.” She kindly said causing the other to look back at her, shocked. He paused for a while before giving a small smile.

 

“Thank you. I just remembered that this was usually a treat that we would have back at the estate.” He smiled at the memory of his parents, “My parents, although they were often occupied, they still found time to have dinner as a family.” He sighed before changing the topic.

 

“I hope that you’re feeling well.” Brynn didn’t push to continue the previous topic and grinned to indicate that she was okay. 

 

Brynn couldn’t help but think back to the time that the two had first met, how awkward she considered the male. It wasn’t his fault, she began to put the pieces together that the other did not have a lot of company when he was younger. 

 

To put it short, he was socially inept, gouche even. Despite being raised in an orphanage, the male had always been isolated from other children. His company was always his surrogate mother. 

 

However she did notice the improvement, she couldn’t help but smile at the other’s attempt of conversing. She supposed that it was because of the fact that she endlessly pestered him to treat her food or to train with her. She was being praised for managing to break through the older one’s shell. Rather, she saw it in a way that he was coming out of his shell instead.

 

“I’m feeling better.” She paused for a while to examine her bandaged arm that had been resting on the seat’s arm rest. “Thank you for patching me up and having me checked. I’m just glad that it happened during a mission with you, not a solo mission.” The last part was inaudible. 

 

“It’s part of my duty as captain, so please, don’t stress yourself over what happened.” His gentle smile had put her at ease. “Mistakes happen but I am glad that your wounds aren’t critical.”

 

The female then stood up, “I may have overstayed. I’ll leave now, I guess that you have more tasks to accomplish?” She was about to reach over for the tray which contained the empty plate and cup, but she was stopped, a hand was placed over hers.

 

_ “Will no one adopt little Julius? Whoever does will inherit the entire Visconti estate!” _

_ “As well as the riches that will be passed on.” _

 

_ “How do you do, Julius?”  _

 

The two blinked and made eye-contact, Julius was the first to speak, “Allow me to take care of that.” He insisted, shocked at the sudden memory that came, “Go have your dinner and rest, Brynn. We will be welcoming our newest recruit tomorrow.” He added, standing up as well and heading towards the door to open it for the girl.

 

Brynn complied, albeit hesistant, she proceeded towards the open door, “Alright, see you tomorrow, Julius.” She waved goodbye and made her way towards the elevator. Not noticing the stare that the captain was giving her. 

 

Since she wasn’t too hungry, she decided to head over to the garden instead. She been going there whenever she was free. The lift stopped at her desired floor, she sighed and walked over to the tree, sitting down with her back against it. She found herself relaxing at the gentle tickle that the night breeze and the grass was making her feel.

 

_ “The branch’s very first new-type.” Came a voice from the speaker as she stood inside a metallic room. The scenery changed. _

 

_ She stood in a place that had hues of brown and orange, she squinted at the blurred figures of people but she could not decipher them, she couldn’t control her body either. _

 

_ “Too bad she can’t fight. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’ll die soon.”  _

 

_ “Another spoiled brat, just what the branch needs.” _

 

_ The scene changed ones again, she was in a white room, she saw the figures of blue, orange, and red.  _

 

_ “Your God arc has been heavily damaged and will take some time to repair. For now, you will remain on standby.” The voice came from the red figure, then she noticed that the orange figure was hunched over. _

 

_ The blue figure walked towards what seemed to be an exit, “I understand that you’re willing to risk yourself for the likes of him, but we don’t need another ---.” With that being said, the figure walked out. _

 

Brynn blinked rapidly once again, “What the hell was that?” Lately, different visions would occur, each blurred figure and voice seemed familiar, but she still could not remember a single thing. She sighed in defeat.

 

“It’s time to call it a day.”

  
  


A loud thud echoed and could be heard throughout Friar’s entire lobby. Julius and Brynn, who had been discussing about different battle tactics and upcoming missions, had diverted their attention from each other to what was happening. They had just arrived at the second floor and had been met with a bubbly blonde writhing in pain on the floor. In front of him, was a newcomer clad in violet. 

 

“What was that for?!” Romeo demanded loudly. He glared up at the other man who was glowering back at him. Julius was the first to approach, standing beside the newcomer while Brynn watched from the sidelines.

 

“What’s going on here, soldier?” He spoke up, earning the attention of both. Nana piped in from the sidelines, witnessing everything that had happened earlier.

 

The two began to bicker again, resulting with the newcomer, whose name was Gil, to leave. Julius began to scold Romeo, “Talk to him later. I will not tolerate animosity in the field.” Romeo muttered an okay in defeat, accepting the fact that there was no point in arguing with the captain. Julius then walked over to the God Arc storage area to prepare for the coming mission.

 

“Brynn, go find him and have him report here.” He called out before entering, “He will be taking part in this mission.” Brynn nodded and did as she had been told. She departed, making her way to the elevator checking each floor for the man. 

 

She found herself entering the garden, sighing in relief as she breathed in the air that would always soothe her.

 

“Your favorite place, huh?” A deep voice had released her from her trance. Her eyes darted over to where the voice had come from, there in the gazebo stood the person she was looking for. She walked over to him and gave a small smile.

 

“Almost everyone’s, I believe.” She had to look up at thim while she spoke with him. The height difference had been evident, the blonde only stood at 5’6 while the male seemed to be towering at around 6’1. Even taller than her captain.

 

The male’s blue eyes silently observed the girl’s face when his face turned to one of surprise, “Oh, it’s you.” He scoffed before continuing, “Have they decided how to punish me?”

 

Brynn cocked an eyebrow before answering, “Well, we’re going to be making ammends.” Her statement caused him to smirk.

 

“Is that so?” He threw a rhetorical question before proceeding, “That Julius guy is the captain, right?” Brynn nodded. “I didn’t expect him to be so prickly about it.” He chuckled lightly.

 

“Well,” Brynn began, formulating an answer, “It’s difficult to have a team with members going at each other’s throats. You did sock him in the face after all.” She mentally rolled her eyes but kept a straight face.

 

“I did what I had to do, I won’t apologize for that.” Gil stubbornly replied, the dejected look coming from the girl’s face caused him to sigh. “I am sorry for causing a lot of trouble so early, though. I’ll…” He paused before averting his eyes, “talk to that Romeo kid later.” Although he had been looking away, he noticed the other’s face lit up.

 

“Alright!” She approved with a nod, “I’m Brynn Amaryllis Mercu, pleased to meet you.” She gave a cheerful smile and slightly bowed her head, “Don’t hesitate to approach me if you need anything or someone to talk to.” She added, looking at him straight in the eyes. Caramel met blue.

 

“You’re as prickly as the captain.” The brown-haired male chuckled, “I’m Gilbert McLane, but Gil will do.” He introduced himself with a genuine smile finally on his face. “I came from the Glasgow branch, a God Eater for 5 years now.”

 

“I could say the same about being a God Eater for 5 years, but I was in a coma for 3 of those years, so I guess that it doesn’t count.” She joked earning another chuckle from the male.

 

“Guess not, nice meeting you.” 

 

“Likewise, we have a mission lined up for us, so we need to head out.” Brynn suddenly recalled with a bit of panic after realizing how much time had passed. She and Gil made their way over to the God Arc holding area.

  
  


Gil picked up his charge spear, Heritage. Brynn did the same with Auricle, they placed it in their cases. They would be needing it as they would be using the jeep as transportation today. They made small talk as they proceeded to the departure area. 

 

“So, you’ve been in Blood for 5 years?” Gil randomly asked, Brynn shook her head no in response. 

 

“It’s a long story.” She sighed as they finally arrived, in front of them was the captain and the blonde buster-blader. “Let’s save it for when you treat me lunch.” She teased.

 

She made it her duty to have everyone treat her lunch at least once, or more than that. Gil looked at her strangely but merely nodded with a smile. 

 

‘What an interesting girl.’ He thought to himself.

 

“Sorry we took so long.” She apologized as she approached the captain, Julius gave her a curt nod, Romeo averted his eyes from where Gil was standing.

 

“No harm done, the transport system had just been finished preparing anyways.” He looked towards the black van which had been customized with Fenrir’s logo. “Anyone who wants to take the wheel?” He offered, he could drive it himself, but figured that someone else wanted to. He looked over at Brynn.

 

“I’ll drive.” Brynn immediately volunteered. She did not want to be in the middle of the two males who had been glaring daggers at each other non-stop. The pleading look on her face had sent the message loud and clear to Julius, which was why he asked in the first place. 

 

He tossed the keys to her which she caught with ease, happily skipping to the driver’s seat. She propped her God Arc’s casing beside her for easy access. She stuffed the keys in order to start the vehicle, waiting for the others to let themselves in.

 

“All aboard?” She jokingly asked while looking at them through the mirror. The engine revved loudly as she began to navigate towards the given location, the Old Tranquil Temple, the ride would be a thirty minute one.

 

Julius, who was seated behind her, brought out the book that the female lent him. He couldn’t help but ponder at how the girl was beginning to grow on him. He usually wouldn’t allow himself to become too attached to his subordinates, even Romeo, who he had known longer. Brynn was someone he had only been socializing for a few weeks, but of course, he had known her for three years.

 

The ride was silent and tense, probably due to the two newly acquainted teammates, who were trying their best at holding back. Brynn’s eyes remained fixed on the path, glancing at the mirror every once in awhile to see how her companions were doing, and to see whether Julius was still alive. Only the rev of the engine and the occasional flipping of Julius’ book could be heard.

 

“Thank you for travelling, Mercu Transportation, we have arrived at the destination.” Brynn cut through the silence, “Did that make any sense?” She asked upon realizing how silly her statement was. She parked the van in a ‘safe’ location, made her way out with her uncased God Arc in her hands. 

 

The cold gust of wind nipped at her bare skin. She cursed herself for wearing ______ which barely covered her stomach, and she paired it with Boost Hammer shorts as well. She reminded herself to pick a more appropriate outfit the next time that they have a mission here. Although God Eaters were supplied with the Bias Factor that supposingly helped regulate their body temperature, Brynn found herself vulnerable to the cold. 

 

Of course she kept her mouth shut. She scanned the area while waiting for her companions to follow.

 

“We’ll go in teams for the search, our target is a Gboro-Gboro.” Julius announced the moment that they were all in one place, “Brynn and I will check areas C, G, I heading towards the main temple. Gil and Romeo,” He turned to the two who were somewhat near each other, scowls on their faces, “You two will proceed to areas B, D, E, and F. Upon finding the Gboro, send up a converge signal.” The all nodded.

“There are a couple of Ogretails roaming around, exterminate them as well, finish them off before proceeding to the primary target.” Everyone listened carefully to his orders.

 

“Well then, let’s begin.” With that being said, they darted off in different directions.

 

Julius had his God Arc in its gun form, while Brynn had her scythe ready. They ran at the same pace towards the locations that the captain had stated earlier. 

 

“You really paired them up.” Brynn voiced out in amusement as she quickened her pace upon seeing a pair of Ogretails munching on some scraps. She swung her Scythe as hard as she could and manage to take them down. Tearing them into two with one strike, Julius fired at the one planning to sneak up on her.

 

“It would give them the opportunity to make ammends.” He briefly explained, switching to his blade in order to help devour the cores.

 

Brynn, being cheeky and hyper as usual, playfully pouted, “So it’s not because you want to spend time with me?” She innocently asked, the other snapped his head towards her direction with eyes wide in surprise, this caused her to chuckle. “Relax, Captain, I was kidding.” The male looked away and began to walk towards their next location. Brynn trailed behind him, silently muttering about how she should have brought a camera. This caused the other to blush harder.

 

He didn’t deny that there was some truth in what she just said. He didn’t like the fact that the newcomer seemed to be ‘close’ to her already by the way he was looking at her earlier. He wasn’t familiar with the emotion that was invading his thoughts. However, he knew that he couldn’t let his personal feelings get in the way of their job, he couldn’t hog her all to himself.

 

Although he found himself wanting to.

 

A loud roar had snapped him from his reverie and an array of bullets came from behind him. He quickly sprinted towards the crocodile looking aragami and began to slash through, dodging every once in a while.

 

A voice came through the comm, “Julius and Brynn are engaging with the primary target. Requesting for immediate assistance. Brynn, send up a flare!” She reminded which caused the girl to do so. The red smoke coming from the flare’s bottom as it penetrated the sky. Another voice came through.

 

“Romeo here, currently dealing with Ogretails but will head over as soon as we finished.” The line ended.

 

Julius continued to slash through, noticing another blade cutting through the beast’s tail. It eventually cracked to reveal a bright orange color, as well as its teeth and dorsal fin, aggravating the aragami. It began firing pressured water, and flailed around in attempts to hit them. Julius checked the stats and noticed that Brynn’s health level had gone low. He quickly switched to his gun and aimed at her, shooting a recovery bullet.

 

“Watch your health, Brynn!” He dodged a current of water being aimed at him, his own bullets had been joined by a couple more, not coming from his female companion. He noticed the arrival of the two other teammates.

 

Brynn devoured, successfully harnessing Aragami bullets, she grinned as a surge of power went through her, she switched to her gun and passed the bullets to her teammates. The action had engulfed them all in a bright yellow light. She began to fire the prototype bullets that she had created earlier, they turned out to be extremely effective. Their continuous assault had resulted with the aragami being successfully defeated.

 

“Nice job, everyone!” Brynn praised with a proud smile on her face, the small cuts that she had received earlier were beginning to heal. They all waited patiently as the captain extracted the core.

 

“Not bad, kid.” Gil spoke to Romeo without looking at him, “I’m sorry for socking you in the face earlier.” He whispered that last part, making it barely audible.

 

“What did you say?” Romeo mocked with a cheeky smile on his face, “I didn’t quite hear you.” With that, another ‘less violent’ banter began to take place. It carried on until the ride home, and even in Friar.

 

“Boys.” Brynn rolled her eyes as she took the wheel. She was still somewhat pleased that the two were getting along better. And that there were no casualties. She couldn’t help but smile in amusement as she listened to the two argue, she couldn’t say that their captain was as amused however. He was in between the two.

 

It’s miracle that he isn’t deaf yet. 

  
  



	6. Cinque

The days in Friar had been as normal as ever; new missions, new Aragami as each day would pass. The Blood Unit would go out in groups of four, occasionally five. Solo missions were still a normal thing for Brynn and check-ups had been occuring more often. 

 

It began when her God Arc began to malfunction after devouring multiple times, she would only experience it during solo missions, this brought her worry and thus reported it to the blonde scientist.

 

“Do not tense up too much, Brynn. That machine isn’t going to eat you up.” She stared up at the ceiling of the machine as her body went through it, she heard her superior’s voice which slightly calmed her down. She had been getting used to the out of place giggles and deep words and phrases she would use.

 

A light shined upon her body and scanned her from head to foot, she became conscious of her breathing and used it as a way to calm herself down. She managed to hear the soft humming of Rachel. A few seconds passed and the machine began to pull away.

 

“I’ll have the results in a few minutes, do come up here so that I may explain my findings to you.” Brynn sat up and immediately left the room.

 

She walked the empty halls lonely, Friar was even more quiet due to the fact that three of the Blood Unit members had been sent out to another branch to provide back-up. She would find herself participating in multiple missions with the recruit from Scotland. The male was constantly scolding her for not checking her health gauge from time to time, this resulted with him bringing multiple recovery items that he would use on her. 

 

She had a feeling that the Captain had something to do with this, or not. 

 

‘Imagine if he finds out that my God Arc is malfunctioning.’ She chuckles to herself imagining a fuming 6’1 male. She arrived in front of the laboratory and knocked on the door twice.

 

“Come in.” She let herself in and saw the lame woman looking at the large screen in front of her. A distinctive smile on her face which sent shivers down her spine.

 

‘This can’t be good.’

 

“I’ve discovered the reason why your God Arc is acting up.” She began not taking her eyes away from the screen, “You may have already noticed that you do not require your daily dose of injections that the other members of Blood have.”

 

She then began to think deeply and had a eureka moment.

 

_ “Hey, Brynn! We’re heading to the lab, you wanna come with us?” Romeo pointed to his armlet, Brynn only cocked her head to the side befores shaking her head in a dismissive way. _

 

_ “I’ll pass, my presence is not being requested anyways.” Romeo and Nana looked at her with a bewildered look, both shrugging their shoulders and making their way to their said location. _

 

_ “Alright, see you later!” Nana said for the both of them before the elevator doors closed. _

 

“I suppose that look on your face expresses that you have realized that.” Came the doctor’s soft voice which drove her away from her thoughts. The doctor did not wait for the girl to answer, “I assumed that you would have known, you produce your own Bias Factor. Quite fascinating.” She looked back to the screen. 

 

“My own Bias Factor?” She repeated with a cocked eyebrow, “How is that possible?” She added, her curiosity being driven even more, earning another giggle from the woman.

 

“The data here is limited, dear Brynn.” This caused her shoulders to slump, “Perhaps we could find information regarding this matter in other documents. Going back,” She cleared her throat before continuing. “You mentioned that your God Arc only acts up when you’re alone? And when you devour?” She nods at this.

 

“When a God Eater devours, there is an increase in the Oracle Cells that are present in their system, this is what drives a God Eater into a Burst state.” She began explaining as Brynn listened intently, “Usually, the God Eater is capable of containing these excess Oracle Cells in the body, I have assessed your stats during your solo missions. The amount of Oracle Cells in your body go beyond what is normal.” Her eyes widen at this.

 

“Along with that, I also examined missions that Blood has with you, and those that they don’t have you as a teammate.” She pointed to a couple of graphs on the screen, graphs that Brynn could barely understand. “Whenever they have you as a teammate, the Oracle Cells that they collect have a 30% increase. Granting them more OP and longer Burst states.” Another graph appeared on the screen which showed lower numbers and did not have her name.

 

“So you mean that those extra Oracle Cells that I gather-”

 

“Are being siphoned and put to good use by your teammates.” The doctor continued her sentence with a smile on her face. Brynn hummed in response.

 

“Another blessing and curse at the same time, my sweet Amaryllis.” The younger girl dismissed the name that she was called. Her thoughts began to drift away.

 

_ “Eat this, Son of a -” Brynn summoned her predator form to bite into the Ogretail that was flailing helplessly on the floor. The familiar surge of energy ran through her veins. She lifted the scythe into the air to slash the nearly defeated bipedalled beast on the floor. Her eyes widened upon seeing her God Arc had not returned to its blade form. _

 

_ “What the-” She eyed the black mass which began to bite into the small fry once again. It continued until it began to tear away at the different parts of the aragami. Until it devoured the core. _

 

_ She stayed as the mass of Oracle Cells from the Aragami began to spread through the air, the Ogretail dissolving into the ground.  _

 

_ “Uh, you should turn back now?” She attempted to reach out to her God Arc which was still in its predator form. She sighed in annoyance and began to heave her artificial Aragami back to the extraction point. _

 

_ “Yo, Fran, requesting for pick up. And, uh… A mechanic would be great, my God Arc doesn’t want to revert back to its blade form.” _

 

She was snapped back to reality after that, the blonde scientist, looking at her with curiosity, “You may go now, Brynn. I believe that you have a mission with Gilbert and our visitor.”

 

‘Visitor?’ Brynn bowed slightly and thanked the doctor, she made her way out and proceeded to the lobby area. 

 

She was greeted by the empty lobby, her enhanced sense of hearing managed to pick up the typing that the operator did on her computer, she rushed her way up to greet the younger girl.

 

“Good afternoon, Fran.” She gave a wide grin when a mug of coffee had been pushed in front of her, “Aw, you spoil me so much.” 

 

The girl happily took the mug of coffee and breathed it in. Due to a certain event that transpired between her and the Captain, her coffee rations had been limited. She was no longer allowed to have the drink everyday. At least the ones provided in the canteen.

 

“It’s the least that I can do.” The operator softly replied as she continued to type on her keyboard, preparing the information for the day’s mission. 

Fran was usually lonely, she was only approached whenever someone needed information, needed to prepare for a mission, or hold appointments with any of the superiors. The older girl had put effort into getting to know the operator and making time to converse with her whenever she was free.

 

“What are we up against today?” Brynn asked after she took a sip from the warm drink. Smiling as the sweetness travelled through her tastebuds. 

 

“Your primary target will be an Ukonvasara that has been making the old factory a resting place, feeding on the multiple Ogretails in the area which are to be disposed of as well.” She paused for awhile and turned the monitor to the awaiting God Eater. She peered at the screen and noticed the foreign name that was underneath hers and Gil’s.

 

“Emil?” She spoke the name in an inquisitive manner. Not even bothering to say the last name as she wasn’t sure how it was pronounced.

 

“You will meet him when he arrives.” Fran informed her and looked at the time, “He will be here around 1500 hours. As soon as he arrives, you and Gil will depart.” She nodded in response and checked the time. She grinned before putting down her empty mug.

 

“Thanks for the coffee, Fran! I’ll have to check my loadout and mail. Let’s talk when we get back.” She turned on her heel and raised an arm in the air, serving as her goodbye. 

 

From: Julius Visconti

Subject: Update

Message: I have been informed regarding your missions during the last 2 days. I commend you for your stellar performance, fast improvement, and adaptability. However, I was also informed that you have been neglecting your health during missions. Please do take caution, it would be detrimetal to the team if something were to happen to you. I will have Gil watch over you more closely during missions. We will be reporting back in Friar in 2 to 3 days.

 

  * Julius Visconti



 

Brynn grumbled before closing the mail and going throigh the other ones, she thought of what to reply, when a devious grin appeared on her lips.

 

To: Julius Visconti

Subject: ---

Message: Alright,  _ dad. _ See you soon!

 

  * Your loving daughter, Brynn Mercu Visconti(????)



 

She grinned and sent the message. Her face suddenly grew pale upon realizing that her message could send a different meaning.

 

“Damnit, Brynn. You idiot.” She cursed herself before shrugging her shoulders, “He’ll probably get it anyways.” She then checked on her loadout, recovery items, and bullets. She checked the time and noticed that she still had half an hour before they would depart. She grinned at this and jumped on her bed.

 

“I’ll just take a nap.” She closed her eyes, snuggling close to her pillow, and soon after she had been consumed by sleep.

 

_ She was soon engulfed by darkness, unaware of where she was. _

 

_ “This power, it could be used for the … gis… je… “ A voice of an older man flowed throughout the area.  _

 

_ “How is this even possible?” Came another voice, the one earlier had seemingly disappeared. “This would relatively be impossible… Unless…“ The voice faded away. _

 

_ ‘Unless what?’ Brynn questioned and groaned in irritation upon not earning a response. _

 

“Hey, wake up.” Caramel eyes met bright blue ones. Brynn groaned and rolled over to the side, dismissing the towering figure.

 

“Five more minutes, mom.” She slurred out as she buried her head into her pillow, which was quickly taken away from her.

 

“We’ll be late if you keep this up.” The tall man reminded her. She still ignored him. “I’m not giving you my share of chi-” He briskly moved back when the girl sat up, as quick as lightning.

 

“I’m good to go!” She stood up and ran out the door. Leaving the man in her room, who followed after her. A bothered look on his face.

 

“I guess she doesn’t remember thrashing around in her sleep.” He turned back to look at the disarrayed pillows and bed sheet. He closed the door and made his way to the elevator, where a smaller blonde was waiting for him.

 

“Hurry up, slowpoke.” Brynn teased earning a serious look. They made their way to the lobby, Brynn leading the way to the counter. She was about to approach the operator when a loud voice had startled her.

 

“So you are the Blood Unit!” She jumped at the sight of a blonde man, wearing lilac colored clothes which reminded her of some rich person during the old times, something that she had seen in the Norn database. He was standing a few feet from her, twirling his long, out of place, lock of hair around his finger.

 

“You must be-”

 

“Ohoho! Please, relax. It’s only natural to be nervous, but I assure you, all is well.” He cut her off. He stopped twirling his hair when his eyes opened and he began making random gestures with his hand. “Now that I’m here, you need never fear again!” Both Gil and Brynn stared at him with blank looks on their faces. 

 

“Oh!” He began again, not giving them the chance to speak, “Forgive my dreadful manners.” He continued twirling his hair again. “A knight in service of the Far East Branch’s glorious 1st Unit Fighters. I am Emil von Strasbourg.”

 

“Nice.” Gil said, before the obnoxious man could say anything else. “Good seeing you, pal.” Brynn chuckled silently at what her companion said. 

“Brynn Amaryllis Mercu,” She was stuck her hand out, in order to shake his, which he rejected as he continued to drone on.

 

“Yes, this Friar is truly a majestic vessel.” She dropped her hand and noticed her companion chuckle as well. “Is it not? Impressive, yet tasteful.” He closed his fist and pulled it down. “Yet beyond the horizon the Aragami scourge awaits, plotting to hinder this vessel’s blessed voyage.”

 

‘Blessed, huh.’

 

“You are undoubtedly gripped by fear. Yet, I say unto thee: Take courage, friends, for I am here.”

 

‘Fear of you, maybe.’ Brynn couldn’t help but cock an eyebrow at the other’s antics. He remained posed in a dramatic manner as he finished his monologue. He looked towards them, with a serious and determined look on his face, Brynn coughed to mask her laughter.

 

“I shall stand firm and defend you.” He wasn’t finished, he went back to twirling his hair with his gloved hand, “You shall know no fear whilst beside me.” 

 

Brynn gave a slight bow with her arm on her stomach, “Well then, most wondrous knight, t’s truly a most wondrous honour to has’t thee square by our side.” She looked up and saw the pleased look on the other’s face, she grinned, wanting to laugh but kept up the act.

 

“Don’t be shy, my friend! It is my sworn duty to help the weak.” An invisible vein throbbed on both of their heads, “That is the truth of Chivalry.” Brynn then walked towards the storage area, knowing that if she didn’t do anything, they would never finish conversing here.

 

“Well then, knight in shining armor,” It was Gil’s turn to mock the oblivious male, “We need to get started with our mission.” His gruff voice echoed throughout the empty lobby as he followed the female. The newcomer rushed to follow behind them.

  
  


The Ukonvasara managed to get away a few minutes before it would have met its demise. The three God Eaters decided to split up. After circling the entire radioactive swamp, the members of Blood had managed to run into one another.

“Any signs?” The taller one asked, shouldering his spear. Before Brynn could answer, a loud battle cry managed to echo from a distance.

 

“That.” The duo ran towards the direction of the sound, they stopped a short distance from where the import they teamed up with was facing the nearly-defeated Aragami. 

 

The male had skid away after dodging an attack coming from the alligator. “Creature of darkness!” He slowly stood up and got into a fighting stance. “I, Emil von Strasbourg, will banish you to where you came!” He swung his hammer, ready to land a hit, but the beast spun around and hit him once again. He struggled to get up, sprouting more nonsense.

 

“All right, you shall now get a taste of my true strength!” He charged again and was about to slam the Ukonvasara to the ground, but it spun around in perfect timing, knocking him away.

 

“What the hell?” Gil said in frustration, “Let’s go take care of that thing.” He had been stopped from advancing when an arm hand blocked him. He turned to see Brynn looking intently at what was happening.

 

“Ugh, whatever.” He moved backwards and continued to watch what was happening, “You’re just going to fuel his pride if he does manage to breakthrough.” Brynn shrugged her shoulders and proceeded to watch. 

 

Emil panted heavily, his God Arc still ready in his arms, “Every battle a God Eater faces is a noble quest!” He managed to catch his breath, “In this world drowning in darkness, the God Eaters bring the shining ray of hope to humanity!” He said a few more lines before he let out a large battle cry then charged. He jumped into the air and slammed his hammer into the Ukonvasara who had not dodged in time. It had been impaled into the ground, the hammer leaving a mark on its head. 

 

The male jumped swiftly to the side with a victorious smile on his face.

 

“Heh.” Gil chuckled in amusement, “Would you look at that, the idiot actually did it.” He casually swung his spear over his shoulder before turning his back. “Go extract the core, I’ll call for extraction.” 

Three days passed and the team of three had been going on various missions together, with high rates of success that had granted them higher rewards and more access to difficult missions. The other members of Blood would be returning and they would go out on a 6 man mission involving 2 Kongous and multiple Zygotes. 

 

Brynn leaned against the tree, her eyes tightly shut when she heard the elevator doors open. She had been busy enjoying the sunlight as there was no sign of Red Nimbus that day. She opened one eye and took in the familiar figure approaching her.

 

“Hello, Captain.” She greeted with a yawn, opening both eyes after that and she stretched. The man gave a small smile before leaning against the tree as well. Feeling the roughness of the bark against his clothes. 

 

“Hello, Brynn.” He replied, “I again would like to commend you for your performance during the last few days.” He said with pride. 

 

“Thank you, Captain.” She paused for a while, blinking rapidly in order to wake herself up, she made a mental note to stop sleeping so often. “You can reward me by treating me dinner when we get back.” She joked earning a chuckle from the other.

 

“That I believe, is becoming a routine for us.” He hummed upon realizing the truth. The girl had been constantly pestering him about food, it was no wonder that he was running out of credits.

 

“You never say no anyways.” She softly replied and continued to shut her eyes, the silence began to consume them. 

 

“How was the other branch?” She inquired after finally coming to her senses. 

 

“Small compared to Friar and the front lines. They had limited God Eaters and most of them being first generation ones.” He answered as the two continued to bask in the silence and the calm that the garden provided. Brynn was someone that Julius wouldn’t mind speaking with, despite the fact that he was a distant person. However, even the silence didn’t face the two. Before they could start another conversation, a loud high-pitched voice had earned their attention.

 

“Captain Julius! Brynn! It’s time to headout.” By the elevator stood a black-haired girl who was waving her hands in the air in a rapid manner. Brynn groaned and stood up, dusting the dirt that had been attached to her clothes. She stuck a hand out for Julius to assist him in getting up. The moment that he grabbed it, a quick blur passed through her vision.

 

_ “My son, we’ll be back before you know it.” Came a woman’s voice. _

 

_ “Next time, we’ll bring you with us so that you could meet their child. She’s about the same age as you.” _

 

Brynn blinked rapidly, still trying to process what she just heard, Julius had a baffled look on his face which matched her own. When he stood up, he let go immediately and they began to walk towards Nana who had been watching the two from afar.

 

They arrived at the departure area, mostly listening to Nana’s babbling about what had occurred during the days that they were gone. The blonde half-listened as they walked on.

 

“Took you long enough.” Gil remarked upon noticing the arrival of the other three, he had been stuck with two males that contradicted his personality, it didn’t amuse him at all. 

 

“I’m getting pumped for our mission!” Romeo exclaimed as he jumped into the helicopter. Followed by the others who did so with less fervor. The helicopter ride was silent most of the way. Each taking their own parts to stay in. Brynn was sitting by the open door of the helicopter, her knees brought up to her chin as she stared out.

 

Julius was glancing at her every once in awhile, he had been working on mission reports on the tablet that he brought. Although he preferred his laptop or terminal, the tablet was more convenient when he was travelling. Unfortunately, his numerous glances had not gone unnoticed by the cheerful black-haired and gold-haired guo. They gave each other knowing and mischievous looks.

  
  


The mission ended as soon as they arrived. The team had been split into 2; Gil, Brynn and Nana in the first team; Romeo, Julius and Emil in the second. They had been ordered by the captain to search around the area after they had defeated the two Kongous. They made fast progress, eliminating the two ape-like aragami with stellar time. 

 

They were just about to regroup. Brynn had just walked out of the observatory area, when a loud shout stopped her in her tracks. 

 

“What the fuck is this now?” She turned to the direction of the screen which came from the cliff area of the city. 

 

“Attention! My God Arc isn’t working!” Emil came out with a large beast, wolf-like in appearance, chasing after him. It knocked him other with it’s armored paw, making him skid away and hit the wall. The Aragami jumped towards Brynn swiping her and knocking her away. 

 

“What the hell are you?” She angrily cursed and glared angrily at the creature. Her caramel eyes met yellow. She felt a sudden surge of adrenaline rush through her veins.

 

_ Blood. _

 

Her vision began to dim, she began readying her scythe not able to control her own movements,  however, she could feel the power that was going to be released in that strike. 

 

_ Blood. _

 

Her vision had blotches of red and black, allowing her only to see the Aragami in front of her, the blade of her scythe being engulfed in red and black aura.

 

“Get ready for this you son of a-!” She screamed loudly earning the attention of her teammates.

 

“What the-?”

 

“It’s just like the captains!”

 

“Observe, the Blood power has finally awakened.”

 

_ Blood. Blood. Blood.  _ **_Blood._ **

 

She screamed once more and swung Auricle with as much force as her body could, successfully knocking the beast off its feet and scarring its left eye. It remained on the ground for a few more seconds before making its way to its attacker. Brynn was panting heavily, slumped over but got Auricle ready. She attempted to raise her arms to attack once again, but the Aragami had been rained with bullets keeping it at bay. Her teammates had stood in front of her to protect her. The beast roared one last time, jumping towards the highest building in order to escape.

 

It glowered, its eye never  letting Brynn out of his sight. She glared back before it sauntered away, not to be seen by them anymore.

 

Brynn groaned and slumped over, using Auricle as her support. She felt a hand on her back, coaxing her to relax. Her legs gave in due to the amount of energy that she had exerted earlier. “You did well, Vice Captain, that beast was strong.” Came Julius’ comforting voice, she did not have the strength to react to the title that he had given her.

 

“Captain?” She managed to call out, her vision beginning to dim. They all surrounded her, Julius supporting her to stand up, making her use his shoulder as support. “I don’t think that I can-“ Her body nearly hit the ground, if it weren’t for the captain who had foreseen the action. 

 

The male blonde sighed before carrying the girl in a way that he had one arm that supported her neck while the other was underneath her legs. He looked down with concern at the unconscious girl, as did the others who neared them. Nana was the first one to speak up.

 

“Captain, will she be alright?” She was worried about her friend, Julius nodded in response and looked at them.

 

“Yes, she will be.” He took in the girl’s serene face once again before looking towards the tallest in the group, “She needs to rest, have Fran send in our pick up and don’t forget about Emil. He must have been knocked out from the impact.” He ordered and looked over to Romeo, “Take her God Arc with you.” Romeo nodded in response and was about to speak up, “I have specialised gloves in my pocket.” 

 

Upon the orders being completed, they walked over to the extraction point, “I’m certain that it will be you to treat us lunch after that promotion.” 

 


	7. Sei

 

Blood managed to arrive back in Friar in one piece, they fortunately had not run into casualties during the journey back to the base. The girl had been asleep the entire time who was being watched over by Gil and Nana. Julius had brought the out cold girl to her room after earning the approval of their surrogate mother. 

 

_ “She is stable, there is no need for her to remain in the sick bay.” Rachel fave a small smile as she looked away from the computer to the extremely worried male. He had stood beside the passed out girl who was currently on the room’s couch. She was occasionally grumbling in her sleep and twitching. Rachel couldn’t help but giggle upon seeing how Julius would react to the smallest movement, which earned a quizzical look from him. _

 

_ “I can see that you have grown quite fond of her, Julius.” She remarked with a hand gesturing over to the sleeping girl. “Does she know that you-“ Julius shook his head no before the girl could continue the rest of her sentence, “Well, do let her know soon. Take her to her quarters. She will be more comfortable there.”  _

 

The blonde male had just finished submitting the reports to Fran who had asked about Brynn’s condition. He reassured her and made his way to the elevator, when a couple of footsteps from behind had earned his attention. 

 

“I did not expect them to recruit you here so soon. I suppose that you are no longer her assistant?” He made turn and had been met with a silver-haired girl whose face held no expression.

 

“Indeed. I will be working with Blood Unit as of today.” Her voice mirrored her expression. She bowed slightly, “I look forward to working with you again.” 

  
  


Brynn’s eyes opened, slowly adjusting to the light. She groaned as she felt her muscles become unresponsive at her attempt to move them. She felt like those that ended up stuck on their backs and struggled to get up. After a couple more attempts, she managed to sit herself up and scooted over the edge of the bed. 

 

‘Bath. I need a bath.’ She thought to herself as she stretched her sore muscles.

 

She sluggishly got her things ready and limped over to the bathroom, which fortunately was vacant. She hummed to herself, stripping away her night clothes, which she didn’t remember changing into, and allowed the cold water to soothe the overworked muscles. She took her time under the cold water as she pondered over what happened,

 

“Blood power, huh?” She muttered while putting on her new set of clothes and dried her platinum coloured locks. What happened yesterday began to rush through her head. 

 

‘He’s going to tease me that I’ve gained weight again.’ She huffed and proceeded to make her way towards the room. 

 

She began to take note how empty and quiet the housing wing was. Usually, one would hear the clashing of pans in Nana’s rooms as she tried making a sandwich (she envied the fact that the other’s room had a kitchen while hers didn’t have one.), soft pattering of feet coming from Julius’ room or the flipping of book pages, guitar strums vibrating from the Gil’s room and audio sounds coming from the blonde Italian’s room.

 

‘Wait, aren’t both Julius and Romeo Italian?’ The random thought crossed her mind the moment that she stepped into her own room. A blue note that was on her desk had caught her attention.

 

‘That wasn’t there earlier.’ She mused and picked it up, reading it to herself, the handwriting was in cursive, neat and small.

 

Proceed to the laboratory. We will be anticipating your arrival. There are some things to be discussed. Her blood ran cold imagining the worst. She immediately rushed towards the lab knocking on the door softly the moment that she arrived.

 

“Come in.” 

 

She stepped inside the room and was met with all the members of Blood, Rachel and a silver-haired girl, “I apologize for taking so long.” She bowed in apology.

 

“Do not fret, child.” Came the scientist’s whimsical voice. “You are just on time. Come.” She gestured to the small circle that the group formed, she walked over and stood beside Gil who had turned his attention back to the captain, she did the same. 

 

“I would like to commend all of you for the successful mission yesterday.” She was asleep for the entire day? “Despite the appearance of a Psion, we all managed to cause it to retreat without any casualties.” Julius paused to glance at Brynn. “Before all that, I would like to introduce all of you to our newest addition to Blood.” He nodded towards the silver-haired girl who gave a slight bow.

 

“I am Ciel Alençon.” Her blank expression had not changed as she spoke, “I was raised in Magnolia Compass and had been trained to handle various weapons and studied various military tactics and strategies.” She bowed once again, “I hope to be able to assist all of you and work with all of you.”

 

Brynn couldn’t help but wonder why most of their members came from the Magnolia Compass place. She would ask one of them later. Her eyes met Ciel’s which widened the moment that they did.

 

“Is there anything troubling you, Ciel?” Julius asked, causing the other to slightly flinch before she turned back to her nonchalant demeanor. She shook her head no thus Julius did not press any further. He turned back to the group.

 

“Proceeding to our main matter, as of this moment, the position of Vice Captain will be assigned to Brynn Amaryllis Mercu. Upon considering her stellar performance and her awakening of Blood Power, she is deemed worthy of earning the position.” Happy squeals and congratulatory statements had showered the platinum-haired girl who had a bewildered look on her face. 

 

“Uh… I will do my best to meet your expectations.” She said to them with a small smile. Although it did not mask the nervousness that could be seen by the captain.

 

“You have us, Brynn, do not pressure yourself too much.” He reassured her which caused her to ease up a bit. She gave him a sincere smile.

 

“This means one thing!” Came Romeo’s voice, prompting all of them to look towards him, all had noticed the cheeky smile that he had. “Brynn will be cooking for us!” They all cheered and agreed with what he said.

 

“That’s a great idea!” Nana pitched in with a dreamy look in her eyes.

 

Gil chuckled before he added, “For once, I have to agree with this idiot. Friar’s food is good, but Brynn’s cooking is really something else.” Brynn blushed at this, she wasn’t used to praises but it did make her happy.

 

She did not notice the way that Julius looked at Gil, however. The taller one noticed and cocked an eyebrow at his captain who looked back at the newly appointed vice captain. 

 

“That would be nice if you could make that happen, Brynn. I have nothing negative to say about your cooking and baking.” 

 

The horrified look on Brynn’s face had faded away and she nodded, “Very well.” She clasped her hands together, “What should we be having later then?” She asked all of them which earned her multiple responses.

 

Romeo had pumped his fist and neared the girl, causing her to move backward, “Italian!” 

 

‘Figures.’ She thought to herself. 

 

Nana stomped in, making the space between her and Brynn disappear, “It has to be Japanese! She made Italian last time!” She opposed with her pink eyes burning daggers into Romeo’s blue eyes. Brynn slid away, not wanting to get caught in the crossfire.

 

“So? It doesn’t mean that she can’t make it again!” He countered, the two continued to bicker while all of them watched with amusement.

 

Brynn chuckled and made her way over to the door, she turned back towards the captain who had been looking at her escape, “I assume that we won’t be heading out because of the red rain? If you don’t mind, I’ll head over to the kitchen to prepare.” He nodded which she used as a reason to leave the room, bowing to Rachel before she left. 

 

Julius turned to the others, watching as Gil managed to stop the two from bickering before he dismissed them all. The rest of the Blood members made their way outside to do whatever they want for the rest of the day. In the laboratory, only the Julius, Ciel, and Rachel remained.

 

“Julius, I would like to discuss things with Ciel. You may go.” She gently told him and turned to the 16 year old. Julius nodded in response and excused himself. He made his way towards his room to rest and check his mail. It had been lighting up earlier but he didn’t get the chance to check it. He was met with his slightly organized room and made his way to the terminal.

 

_ “Julius~” Came Brynn’s excited voice through the door, “Can I come in?” The man couldn’t help but cock an eyebrow knowing that the girl wouldn’t see him. _

 

_ “Come in.” He said without looking up from his laptop. The door swung open to reveal the girl who had a wide smile on her face. His blood ran cold, he had a feeling that she was plotting something. _

 

_ “Did Fran give you coffee again?” He asked as he continued to type. He felt the girl’s presence beside him. _

 

_ “Uh… Maybe.” She hesitantly answered before changing the topic, “Can I borrow your laptop?” She asked quickly earning a quizzical look from the captain. _

 

_ “For what reason, Brynn?” He asked, momentarily stopping from typing as he looked at the girl. _

 

_ “Research purposes.” The laptop had been grabbed from him and the girl was out of the room in a flash, “Thanks, Julius!” Before he could protest, the girl was out of his sight. _

 

“I should have gotten my laptop back.” He mumbled as he checked his mail, he began to wonder why he didn’t get it back before they headed out for the other branch. He had to use the branch’s terminal which wasn’t as advanced as the one that they had in Friar. 

 

“That girl.” He mused as he read through the mail which came from the Far East Branch Director, one that he had met in a summit that happened a year ago.

 

From: Paylor Sakaki, Far East Branch

Subject: Blood Unit

Message: Requesting for support from Friar’s Blood Unit. Multiple Psions are flocking around the branch’s premises. The 2nd generation and 1st generation God Eaters are not capable of engaging with the Aragami as upgrades are still being conducted.

 

He quickly read through the rest of the email before sending it to his surrogate mother. He sighed, recalling the files that he was trying to access. Still unsuccessful in doing so. 

 

“What if…” An idea ran through his head as he quickly looked up the Far East branch mission log. He scrolled through until he reached the documents that were of 3 years ago. Looking through the names that were included in each title.

 

One log, which was labelled as successful but was grayed, caught his attention. It only contained the date, location and name of the members. Instead of a name that was written on the topmost slot, the word ‘deceased’ was in the place. A frown finding its way to his lips as confusion continued to pester his thoughts.

  
  


The smell of delicious food wafted through out the air. Drawing the attention of the members of Blood who had gathered around the cafeteria. It had been 3 hours since they had their impromptu meeting and their stomachs had brought them to the dining area.

 

“I’m starving!” Nana whined as she took a seat beside Ciel. The silver-haired girl was busying herself with a tablet which had different notes and tabs open. “I haven’t had Brynn’s cooking in awhile.” She added with a dreamy-look on her face. The same look that she would have whenever she would talk about her Oden sandwich.

 

Romeo sat across from her, “She always claims that she’s too tired whenever I ask her.” He stretched his body across the table to reach his black-haired comrade, he whispered into her ear, “But I bet you if Captain were to ask, I’m sure that it would be a different story.” They both snickered at the statement but stopped the moment that Julius and Gil approached the table, taking their respective seats.

 

“She made lasagna for me and the other idiot,” He was referring to Emil who had gone back to the Far East, “while you guys were out.” Gil earned a couple of glares, a very subtle one from the team’s captain. Ciel could only stare in wonder, was the vice captain’s cooking really that good?

 

Dinners at Friar usually began at 8 in the evening, due to it only being 6 in the evening, they had the entire cafeteria to themselves. The kitchen door swung open with a kick, revealing the blonde girl who was balancing plates and dishes. She made her way to the table with a smile on her face as the smell intensified.

 

“Sorry that it took so long!” Brynn apologized as she set the dishes down around the table. Risotto, an arrangement of different sushi, Canelloni, and Roast Beef. A feast of different cuisines had filled their vision. She took her own seat between Gil and Julius before announcing, “Let’s dig in!” The members of Blood began to fill their plates and ate like they haven’t eaten in days.

 

“Dis is zo good, Brynn!” Nana praised with food stuffed inside her mouth. The others nodded in agreement.

 

“Maybe if we weren’t born in this age, you could have had your own restaurant.” Romeo chimed in after helping himself to another serving of pasta. “But then again, we probably wouldn’t have been able to try your cooking for free.”

 

Julius was the next to speak up, the sad look on his face had not gone unnoticed. “I haven’t had food this good since I was a child.” His smile was gentle but she could see the sorrow in his eyes. She gave him a quick look of worry before she placed a hand on his knee and squeezed it softly. 

 

“Where did you learn how to cook like this, Vice Captain?” Ciel, who had been silent the entire time finally spoke up, “If I may ask.” She added after she looked from her plate just to look at the girl in question. 

 

Brynn bit her lower lip in thought, ‘Where did I learn?’ She thought as hard as she could but it was all to no avail, she turned back to Ciel who had been patiently waiting.

  
  


“I can’t actually remember how and where I learned?” She began as all of Blood was looking at her curiously, “It just comes naturally when I’m in the kitchen. I saw some recipes in Norn as well.” Her eyes lit up then she suddenly stood up and darted towards the kitchen. They all looked towards the kitchen door waiting for her to emerge.

 

She came out again after a couple of seconds with a tray in her hands. She set the tray down on the middle of the table, the smell of something sweet and fruity made itself known as they looked at the creamy white and yellow dessert.

“For dessert, Mango Fridge Cake. I found some graham crackers, didn’t know that we still have that here.” They all stared and began to take their share.

 

“How did you get your hands on mangoes, beef, and fish?” Gil asked after taking a bite, “I didn’t know that mangoes were still available.” 

 

“Oh, that wasn’t beef, that was Ogretail.” Their eyes widened which earned her a hearty laugh, “I wish that I had a camera, you should have all seen your faces.” She buckled over laughing as they all glared at her. She managed to catch her breath after a few seconds.

 

“Friar gets rations of farmed beef along with the chicken and fish. I asked if I could have some. Mangoes, you can get them in the Abandoned City. There are still some trees in the deeper parts.” Her explanation reached their ears while they consumed the dessert.  

 

“Abandoned City?” Nana inquired after swallowing the food, there was some cream on her lower lip, “I’ve never seen them before. When did you find time to-”

 

“Solo missions, remember?” The platinum haired one quickly responded, a grin playing on her face. She usually had an hour before extraction so she would go around alone and search for materials. Materials to upgrade her God Arc and some other things that may be of use to her. She would occasionally find fruit and other consumable things that she didn’t know existed. Those things that she didn’t need, were sold to the mercenaries and to the kitchen staff who would use the things that she found.

 

After their dinner, they migrated to Blood’s common room which was rarely used. The cafeteria had began to accept other staff and it was getting quite crowded.

 

“Wait, I’ll just give Fran some food and I’ll be back.” Brynn informed them before rushing out the door with a container of food in her hands. She ran towards the lobby and sighed in relief upon seeing that Fran’s shift wasn’t done yet.

 

“Yo, Fran!” She greeted with a grin on her face, she placed the container on the counter and pushed it towards the operator, “Thought that you might be hungry, so…” She trailed off, the grin still not fading from her face as the other smiled in appreciation.

 

“Thank you, Brynn. I heard that you’ve been promoted. Congratulations.” She took the container and opened it, sniffing it before sighing in happiness, “You really hold on to your promises.”

 

“Of course!” Brynn replied as she ran a hand through her platinum colored hair, “Well, I’ve got to go! I’ll see you tomorrow, Fran!” She quickly turned on her heel waving her hand in the air.

 

Fran watched the retreating figure with a small smile on her face as she turned back to the computer screen. She was filing reports as missions weren’t usually conducted at night and no one was allowed to go outside because of the Red Rain. A small electronic letter appeared on the screen which she opened to see that it had come from the girl from earlier.

 

From: Brynn Amaryllis Mercu

Subject: Rations

Message: Hope that you don’t mind me getting your beer rations. You are underaged after all! Thank you~ ^__^

 

She sighed at this before continuing to type away, “I smell trouble brewing.” 

  
  


Brynn walked towards the common room with cans in her arms and a wide malicious smile on her lips. She kicked the door open and skipped inside, distributing the beer to everyone, except for Ciel who was underaged.

 

She walked towards and handed him a bottle, he politely declined, “Oh come on, it’s just today.” He cocked an eyebrow at her, still unconvinced as he leaned against the couch. “I’ll give you back your laptop.” That convinced him and he hesitantly got the can from the girl. She sat beside him and opened her own can taking a sip.

 

Julius did the same, the bitterness of the liquid travelled through his mouth and down his throat. He stopped himself from making a face as he stared at the can. Despite being 20 years of age, he didn’t drink. It’s not that he didn’t want to, he just never found the time and didn’t find any reason to do so. 

 

“I thought that they didn’t issue beer rations to minors?” Romeo questioned while holding a beer can in each hand, he hadn’t opened it yet and was debating on giving it to Gil who was calmly drinking his. He had two since Nana shoved one to him as she preferred eating.

 

Brynn’s face twisted to one that had been offended, she glared at the male who was speaking to her, “Just because I’m small, it doesn’t mean that I’m a minor.” She huffed, although, her statement wasn’t exactly true. After all, she was the tallest female in the group. 

 

“I’ve been sleeping for 3 years… So that means… I’m already 18.” She mused, she was already an adult. She felt like it was some cheat as she skipped 3 years of being a minor.

 

“You could be 17.” Gil piped in from the corner before taking a sip from his can, “Birthday?” This caused the girl to pause.

 

“It has already passed.” She took a sip from her can. “August 12.” It was already November, so that did make her previous words true.

 

“So this celebration could serve as your birthday, promotion and Ciel’s arrival.” Nana suggested with food stuffed in her mouth. Brynn chuckled as she took a graham cracker from the pile and bit into it. She turned to her side and saw that Julius had a blank look on his face and his can was empty.

 

“Did you chug that down, Captain?” She asked in a concerned manner, Julius blinked a bit before nodding slowly. Wincing as a sharp pain went through his head. 

 

“Wasn’t… I supposed to?” He slurred, his eyes were a bit blurry and everything was spinning. He could make out the disapproving look on Brynn’s face while she shook her head no. “Forgive me, I had no idea.” 

 

Brynn looked towards the other members who were still busy enjoying, “I’ll take Julius back to the room, he may have drank his too quickly.” The ochre haired man groaned as he leaned against the girl. Brynn assisted him by wrapping one of his arms behind her neck and she wrapped her arm around his waist. She was short so she couldn’t reach higher than that with their position. Gil was about to walk over but she stopped him, “Gil, it’s fine. Stay and have fun. I’ll be back.” He nodded before leaning back to his spot and taking his beer can in his hands once again.

 

The other members of Blood watched as the two figures retreated out the door, they were in silence. Only the music blaring from the speakers could be heard.

 

“I ship.”

  
  


The two managed to arrive at the Captain’s room in one piece, without vomit or anyone falling over. Brynn opened the door and set the tall man into his bed without much difficulty.

 

“I can’t believe… you convinced me to drink.” He slurred as he sank into his blanket. The newly appointed vice captain chuckled softly in response. But couldn’t help but wonder why he was already hung over. She was looking forward to see a hyperactive Julius.

 

That didn’t happen however. She was disappointed.

 

“Well, you never say no anyways.” She teased before sitting down beside him, the bed sinking a bit under her weight. “We need to work on your tolerance.” This elicited another groan from the male who had his eyes tightly shut. 

 

“It’s your fault…” She chuckled again.

 

“My fault that?”

 

“I can’t say no.” She couldn’t help but wonder what he was trying to say. She wanted to ask but noticed that the other was struggling to stay awake. She assumed that he was asleep so she slowly stood up, a hand grabbed hers.

 

“Wait…” Came Julius’ soft and groggy voice. “Stay a bit longer. Let’s talk.” Brynn hesitated but shifted back to where she was previously sitting.

 

“Are you sure, Julius? You may say things that you’ll regret.” She joked as she ran a hand through his hair. She quickly drew her hand back, ‘Why the fuck did I do that?’ 

 

“I won’t remember anyways.” Julius replied.

‘Hmm… True.’

 

“When I first saw you awake… I was thrilled to see that weren’t bedridden.” She lifted an eyebrow at what he was saying. “I was waiting for you to wake up.” Her breath hitched her throat as her eyes widened. “I confided in you, even though you were unconscious. You were the only person that I could actually talk to.” He chuckled weakly as his voice trailed off.

 

Brynn smiled at the sleeping figure, his face was peaceful and he obviously wouldn’t be waking up after a while. She placed her hand on his.

 

_ The chopper’s blades spun noisily in the air as her eyes opened, hers were met with grey colored ones that held worry and panic.  _

 

_ “So you’re awake. Rest a bit more, we’re nearing our destination.” It was Julius, she complied and closed her eyes. _

 

“So you saved me…” She was in shock after the memory faded away. “Thank you…” She squeezed his hand before making her way out. She closed the lights and peeked at the captain’s sleeping figure before walking out.

 

“I owe you my life.”


	8. Sette

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forgive me for the typos, I don't own GE2RB or any of the characters, except for Brynn. Enjoy!

Brynn’s slow footsteps echoed throughout the hallway. It was early morning, the windows had allowed a bit of sunlight to come in indicating that the Red Rain had concluded. She grasped a tray which had a glass of water, food, and pills.

 

She decided to bring the captain some medicine as she felt responsible for his hangover, he hadn’t emerged from his room since then and even skipped breakfast. Luckily, the platinum-haired one managed to sneak food from the cafeteria.

 

Her footsteps came to an end when she reached his door, it was the room in the middle of the hallway. She knocked on the door gently, managing to balance the tray with one hand before she spoke gently, “Julius? You up? I’m coming in.” She opened the door and was met with silence and an empty room.

 

She heard the water in the bathroom running, she figured that he was attempting to get rid of his headache with a bath. Placing the tray down on the table the female looked around the room in curiosity as thoughts began to run through her head. She bitterly thought that he was the only one that had his own bathroom.

 

Did that entail her one since she did become Vice Captain recently? She shook her head to dismiss the thought, and remembered the reason why she was here. She needed to talk to him.

 

Brynn looked towards the window which showed a fake image of the outside. Each member could choose what view they wanted to have in whatever rooms they occupied. The room that she was currently in had a vast field that had multiple flowers that seemed similar to the ones that they had in the garden. The water stopped running and the door opened, she spun around and nearly fainted at what she saw.

 

“Ah, J-julius! I’m sorry, I just brought you your food but I-I’ll go now!” Her face turned bright red upon seeing the male who had a towel wrapped around his waist leaving his torso bare. He was drying his hair without another towel. She gulped upon seeing the Captain’s abs that seemed sculpted from marble. She cursed upon realizing that she was staring at the male’s muscular and lean frame. She failed to notice the amused look playing on the other’s features as she attempted to walk past him.

 

She was a few feet away from the door when the figure that she was escaping from had suddenly appeared in front of her. Her eyes were met with his bare skin and she inhaled his scent. 

 

‘He smells like lavender.’ She thought and couldn’t help but think how feminine that seemed. She looked up and saw how droplets of water trickled down his face and the serious look the older one had.

 

“I truly appreciate your efforts to bring me food, Vice Captain.” he gave a reassuring smile. “Give me a few moments to get dressed. I suppose that you stayed to discuss things with me and not to see me partially naked?” 

 

‘Who would have thought that for someone so serious, he enjoys other’s dismay.’ She thought to herself in amusement then found a smirk finding a way to her lips. The flustered state that she was in earlier had disappeared. 

 

“And if I did?” It was the male’s turn to blush and she giggled. She began to think that despite him being serious, he was easily flustered and naive as well.

 

“It was a joke, Captain Visconti.” Too bad that she was better at getting on other’s nerves. 

 

_ “Pssst. Pssst.” The noise was coming from her as she faced a blue figure. “PSSSST!” The blue figure still ignored her. _

 

_ “VAJRA!” She screamed causing the blue figure to spin around, the huge blade that he was shouldering was now ready. She laughed boisterously and buckled over. _

 

_ “Your face was too much to handle!” She remarked through the giggles, she swore that she heard her companion growl.  _

 

_ “I’ll feed you to the damn Vajras, fucking idiot.” _

 

She blinked and attempted to remember who that figure clad in blue was. Julius had emerged from the bathroom, now dressed and decent, and made his way to Brynn who gave a small smile in recognition.

 

“What was it that you wanted to discuss about, Vice Captain?” 

 

The girl bit her lower bit and her eyebrows knitted together in response to the title. “That.” Julius looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

 

“I mean… Why me?” She asked in the most simplified way. Julius caught on and gave a small smile that reached his grey colored eyes. He ran a hand through his hair before answering.

 

“Why not? I believe, and everyone else believes that you are more than qualified for this position.” The blonde male said with a small smile on his face. Despite him trying to put her at ease, it didn’t dispel her own doubts. 

 

She was afraid and worried. What if she couldn’t meet their expectations. She couldn’t fulfill her duties and couldn’t protect her teammates. Heck, she knew that being vice captain meant that she had to make reports. Something that she wasn’t good at, especially if in the future, you’ll put hers beside the captain it will definitely stick out and look horrible to put it short.

 

_ Brynn’s Mission Report Draft _

_ Mission Report: _

_ Mission Name: Bookworm? Library worm? (Got to ask Fran.) _

_ Date: ??? NO ONE WANTS TO DATE ME _

_ Participants: Me| _

_ Participants: M| _

_ Participants: Brynn Amaryllis Mercu _

_ Targets: Chi-Yu|  _

_ Targets: Chi-Y| _

_ Targets: Chi-You _

_ Report: Mission was a success, managed to defeat the Chi-You within 10 minutes and core was extracted. _

 

_ Brynn’s Mission Report (After Julius edited it.) _

_ Mission Name: Bookworm _

_ Date: 11/22 _

_ Participants: Brynn Amaryllis Mercu _

_ Targets:  _ **_Chi-You_ ** _ , Ogretail _

_ Report: Bookworm was a successful solo-mission that had resulted with no major injuries and casualties. Goals have been met in exactly 9 minutes and 43 seconds. Other nearby aragami had been exterminated as well. All cores have been collected, (1 Chi-You’s and 7 Ogretails’)  _

 

She wasn’t very good with her words. Especially since she was put in a unit where the captain was a modern Shakespeare (not like the annoying Emil who thankfully went back to the Far East.)

 

Finally finding her voice, she answered, voicing out the thoughts that troubled her, “I can’t even take care of myself, I often have to drag you all around. What if-”

 

“Those are all what ifs, Vice Captain. Do not overlook the fact that we are a team. Blood is one. We do not expect you to carry the burdens alone. As for your weaknesses. No one is pardoned from having weakness. As a team, there is a sense of equilibrium. Each members fills in what the other doesn’t have.” Brynn felt his hand reach her shoulder as he squeezed it gently, a sense of tranquility washed over her.

 

_ “Congratulations, Julius.” Came the voice of Rachel, she could not see a thing however. “You are the first person to become compatible with the P66 Bias Factor and the foundation of the Blood Special Forces.” _

 

She gave a sincere smile after the memory faded away, Julius had more weight on his shoulders and she should be the one to at least try to lessen that weight. The warmth radiating from his hand had dispersed but a warm smile played on his lips. She found it strange how every time they would come in contact, she would discover something new about him. Of course, they never talked about it in person.

 

‘Does that mean that he’s learning things about my past?’ She couldn’t help but wonder.

 

“Alright, Captain.” She softly began, her caramel colored eyes met with his grey ones. “Thank you for listening to me and making me feel more at ease.”

 

“It’s fine, Brynn. Please don’t keep things to yourself. We’re all here for you.” 

 

‘I suppose that this is the least that I could do.’ 

  
  


“Vice Captain, do you have a few moments to spare?” Brynn looked up from the book that she was reading, she found it in the abandoned city, there happened to be a few books that were still readable and were actually worth reading. Her lips stretched upwards.

 

“Of course.” Patting the seat beside her, Ciel reluctantly sat down. 

 

There was silence between the two, Brynn set aside her book while her attention was now all upon the younger female. She began to take notice how mature the 16 year old looked. Even more mature than her. With her sharp eyes and figure. She definitely did not look her age. She stopped the urge of looking down at her own, not so blessed chest. A light blush crossed her face upon realizing that she was looking at the girl.

 

‘First Nana, now Ciel? So apparently, I’m bi without realizing it.’ 

 

“I’ve been meaning to ask.” The blank look that the younger one had never changed. This did not stop Brynn from seeing the shyness that it contained however. “Ever since you’ve joined Blood, how much combat experience do you have?”

 

What was with that question? Brynn couldn’t help but think back to how long she was with Blood. It has been 2 months since she first participated in active missions and so far, she’s been in more than 20 missions by now. But they all dealt with small fries and medium-sized Aragamis. She was never assigned a mission where she had to deal with a large-sized Aragami or anything that held extreme power. The power that a normal god Eater wouldn’t be capable of handling.

 

“I don’t know if you were made aware, but…” She paused and hummed before continuing, “Blood wasn’t my first unit. Supposingly, I’ve been a God Eater since I was 13. But I guess that you can’t count the three years that I’ve been inactive.” She chuckled lightly in attempts to ease the tension in the air. Ciel didn’t look amused in the slightest.

 

‘Damn, tough cookie.’ She thought with amusement.

 

“I see…” Ciel acknowledged as she averted her eyes. “I don’t have much experience in the frontlines. However, I do specialize in tactical strategies and the like. I had devised a possible training regimen for Blood. Taking in each member’s stats and capabilities into consideration. I believe that it will help with the development of Blood.” She, “I submitted the report to you.” She continued.

 

‘So this is what Julius meant.’ The blonde nodded, they continued to discuss with one another when Brynn’s earpiece began to activate. 

 

**“All Blood members are requested to proceed to the lobby.”** Fran ordered. Although it was loud enough for Ciel to hear, Brynn cringed at how high the volume was and muttered a curse before lowering it.

 

“Looks like something’s up.” Brynn picked up her book and rose from her spot, stretching a bit before she turned back to Ciel. “Let’s have lunch together and continue our discussion then.” The silver-haired girl blinked in surprise before nodding in agreement. 

 

She didn’t expect the Vice Captain to actually be interested in all the technical stuff they were engaged in earlier. She had been brushed away by the other Blood members when she attempted to bring it up with them, and assumed that the eldest girl would react the same way. She couldn’t help but smile as she followed behind the girl that she was thinking about. 

 

The duo arrived at the lobby and all members were present. Julius cleared his throat before announcing whatever was going on.

 

“A distress call had been picked up just a few minutes ago. Apparently, a lone God Eater has been ambushed by a Psion.” They all tensed up. Brynn recalled her previous experience with a Psion which wasn’t a good one to add. “The God Eater has a second generation God Arc, which can easily be manipulated by the Psion. Although it is not confirmed what kind of Aragami this is. It is still a threat.” 

 

Brynn swallowed the lump in her throat as she looked around, this would be her first mission as Vice Captain. She couldn’t help but feel the heaviness of her responsibility. Julius noticed the problematic look on the girl’s face.

 

He knew that she was troubled by the responsibility that had been entrusted to her. But he wouldn’t have decided on it if he wasn’t confident in what she was capable of doing. He had seen some visions of what possibly was her past whenever she would come in contact with him.

 

_ “Congratulations, you are the this branch’s very first new-type.” _

 

_ “After this mission, you will be promoted to Captain.” _

 

_ “You are a very promising God Eater. I hope that you continue to remain loyal to your calling.” _

 

He believed that she was fitting and more than competent for the responsibility. 

 

“Captain, shall we begin?” Said girl released him from his thoughts as they all looked at him with concern, “The sooner we get there, the better.” He nodded in agreement.

 

Clearly, he now needed someone to snap him from his thoughts every once in a while.

  
  


The Psion had been defeated and Blood dispersed in order to search for the God Eater that had previously been engaged with the Psion. It had been Julius and Gil who found their target. Followed by Nana, Ciel, and Romeo. 

 

She was a silver-haired woman, wearing a white uniform that barely covered her chest. If the male God Eaters hadn’t been used to this sight, they probably would have looked like hungry wolves upon seeing the voluptuous girl. Her God Arc was in its gun form, blood red in color, matching the blade and shield that it had. 

 

“I thank you all for responding immediately.” She thanked them before she queried, “Who the heck are you lot?” 

 

Julius answered for them all, “We are Friar’s Blood Unit. Our operator picked up the distress signal that was coming from your armlet. Our system is capable of picking up signals of Psions around the area.” He paused before observing the girl, he had not seen any injuries, fortunately. “Are you alright, Miss?”

 

The woman nodded in response, the tense expression that she had faded away. “I am Alisa Illinichina Amiella, a member of Fenrir’s independent unit, Cradle. Pleased to meet you-” She paused, “I apologize, I don’t know your names.” She gestured to each one of them with her free hand.

 

After getting acquainted with one another, Romeo piped in, “Uhm…” He looked around, all looked at him with curiosity. “The Vice Captain hasn’t gotten back yet.” Upon realization, Julius’ eyes widened and he pressed on to his earpiece.

 

“Blood Alpha, we have regrouped. Where are you?” He asked in concern, waiting for a reply from the missing girl. He only heard static when a loud gunshot was heard. The line was finally getting established.

 

They all waited with bated breath as they heard a roar from the other line, “Yeah, Blood Alpha here, an Aragami has made its appear-” another roar came through, “For fucks sake shut up, Vajra!” There was a roar of pain and a slight yelp. Then static.

 

“Damnit.” Julius cursed before pressing on his comm once again, “Fran, Julius coming in, send in the location of the large aragami that has entered the premises.” 

 

“Sending in coordinates. Something happened with the signal earlier. I’ve managed to re-establish the connection with the connection with Blood Alpha.” A red dot appeared on Julius’ eyepiece, he put it on hastily earlier and they proceeded to head to the location when he gave the order.

 

They ran towards the farthest building along with Cradle’s member. They were all in their gun forms except for Nana who opted to use her hammer. “I can’t believe that the Vajra hadn’t been detected earlier!” Gil shouted while running next to Julius.

 

The demolished chapel was coming into view, “I hope that she’s alright.” Nana piped in. “She still can’t be reached.”

 

“This Vice Captain of yours must be insane.” Alisa voiced out loud. This earned a sigh from Julius.

 

All had been stopped in their tracks the moment that they arrived and got a glimpse of what happened. A dark red and black aura surrounded the scythe as she cleaved through the beast multiple times. She raised it over her head, and cleaved the Vajra in half before pulling out, ripping out the core in the process. Leading to the lion-like Aragami’s demise. She stabbed the God Arc into the ground and panted.

 

She had used up most of her stamina with her attacks. Fortunately, the Vajra died before she had ran out. Romeo was the first to rush to her.

 

“You took the Vajra down on your own!” His blue eyes were wide with surprise as he helped the girl to stand. It was his first time seeing a God Eater actually combat with a Vajra solo. He knew that it had been accomplished by other God Eaters in the past, but perhaps asides from Julius, he didn’t expect Brynn to be capable of taking it down.

 

They all were approached her as she looked up and gave a sheepish grin, “Give me a sec. The Cleave fang really took a lot from  me.” The drained girl struggled to get up, but ended up stumbling. Nana and Ciel forunately caught her and supported her.

 

Gil went nearer with a furious look on his face, Brynn knew that he would be scolding her so she braced for his words, “You should have reached out to us earlier, idiot!” She winced a bit before turning back to him to glare.

 

“The signal had been jammed, stupid.” She spat back at him, “I’ve been trying to run back but this fella,” she pointed to the mass of oracle cells that was going back to the air, “was too keen on playing around. It was strangely aggressive.” She added, now capable of standing giving the two younger girls thankful glances.

 

Julius butted in before they could reprimand her even more. “Let’s just all be thankful that she’s safe.” The look of relief on his face had been evident. The worry and anxiety he had from earlier had been dispelled the moment he saw the girl’s health levels. He thought that he was going to lose-

 

Wait, when did he get so attached? He shook his head slightly to get rid of the thoughts. He needed to remain professional. Attachments would only cause him trouble. He looked over back to his teammates to see that Brynn was conversing with the girl that they had rescued.

 

“You know, you’d be prettier if you pick up your jaw from the floor.” Brynn casually joked as they all looked at the look of disbelief that the Russian had. “Don’t take it the wrong way, I don’t swing that way.”

 

‘Or maybe I do?’ She caught a glimpse of the newcomer’s chest. She turned back to face the girl’s blue eyes.

 

Julius walked up to them, “Is there anything bothering you about my Vice Captain, miss?” His statement had caused the other to snap out of her thoughts.

Alisa cleared her throat, still looking at the female blonde. ‘It can’t be her? She’s dead. She’s been buried.’ She faced Julius, “She just reminded me of an old friend.” Brynn was now conversing with the tallest in the group. Hitting him every once in awhile. 

 

‘Could it be?’ 

 

She planned on approaching to ask for her name, but her comm had called her attention. A voice indicating that her pick-up has arrived.

 

**“Oi. We’re here. Don’t keep us waiting.”** Came a gruff man’s voice, she rolled her eyes upon realizing who it was. Failing to notice the Brynn look at her with shock.

 

“Yes, I’ll proceed to the extraction point.” She muted her comm and looked over to the unit that had saved her, “My pick-up has arrived, I thank all of you once again.” She turned on her heel, ignoring the way that Romeo gawked at her. “I’m very sure that I will work by your side in the nearby future.” They watched her retreating figure, Brynn staring intensely at the girl’s back.

 

_ “Ajin… Diva… Touri…” _

 

Did she know her? What branch did she come from? Brynn flinched when a hand laid itself upon her shoulder, “You did well, Vice Captain. We must make our way back to Friar.” He gently reminded her, the other simply nodded in response. Thus they trudged back towards the extraction point. A lingering sense of familiarity had bothered her endlessly.

  
  


Brynn had been summoned by a certain scientist in order to be briefed regarding her upcoming assignment, which was to be fulfilled on the same day. A few days had passed since that Vajra incident and it has been awhile since her God Arc acted up.

 

Hopefully, it wouldn’t anymore.

 

The doctor was kind enough to give her a tool that would stabilize her OP intake. An extra storage for oracle cells for her gun. It could store 9 times of what her OP storage was capable of doing. Her blast gun was already capable of doing that, but what the doctor added allowed it to happen automatically. Previously, she had to transfer it on her own.

The elevator’s door slid open to reveal a red-haired woman, the sister of the person who she was to report to. She bowed slightly and the woman gave her a small smile, “Looks like your hands are beginning to get filled, Vice Captain.” She put emphasis on the title.

 

Even until now, Brynn still wasn’t used to being called that. It seemed awkward for her and she would constantly remind them not to call her that. Of course, if it were someone of that level, she would not dare to reprimand.

 

She was crazy but she still somehow had respect for her superiors. 

 

“How’s Ciel doing?” She was snapped back to reality with the question. Curiosity and concern sparked in the elder woman’s eyes and Brynn could see it clear as day.

 

As promised, Brynn would often have lunch with the younger girl. This left her with less time with Julius and Gilbert who she usually was with. Not that they were bothered. Both, especially the captain, had become more busy as missions were piling up.

 

“I think that she’s doing great.” She cheerfully answered, “She’s slowly opening up.” Remembering one of the discussion that they had involving animals and bullets. Despite the contrast of the two topics, they were things that caused sparks to fly from the younger one’s eyes.

 

The doctor hummed in response, “Is that so? That’s good then.” Her heels clicked against the floor as she walked past the God Eater. “Ciel came from a military bloodline thus resulting to her vast knowledge regarding weaponry and military tactics. I’m glad that she has someone to open up to now. She used to be Julius’ bodyguard, so I suppose that they were somewhat close.” She reached the elevator and stepped in, the small smile on her face didn’t fade away, “Keep up the good work.” The metallic doors closed.

 

‘Bodyguard? They must have been really close then.’ Her heart tightened a bit before she shook her head disapprovingly. She didn’t and shouldn’t be jealous and bothered. Wait, she wasn’t jealous. There’s nothing to be jealous about. A groan erupted from her throat before she made her way to the lab.

 

She didn’t have time for those ridiculous feelings. 

  
  
  



	9. Otto

The Russian was dazed the entire flight home. Countless thoughts ran through her head as she stared outside, admiring the clouds. She couldn’t help but chuckle at the previous lines that their former captain had told her.

 

_ “Look at the sky and look for a cloud shaped like an animal.” _

 

That was so long ago, even before… Before  _ she _ died. Before  _ she _ sacrificed herself to save them. The memory was as clear as day. Ever since she laid eyes on that girl earlier, she couldn’t stop thinking about  _ her _ .

 

The girl had the same caramel colored eyes. The same cheeky smile, audacious and impudent attitude. The same one that caused her to loathe  _ her _ at first. The hair color was questionable. There was a great contrast between pitch black and platinum gold, height as well. 

 

And the fact that they saw her body being burnt and life being drained away.

 

“Oi.” A sharp voice had snapped her from her thoughts, she looked over to her left and a dark-skinned man with white hair had met her eyes. “Anything worth sharing?” He asked with a cocked eyebrow.

 

Alisa shook her head, would it be worth telling him? “I was just thinking of her.” She noticed the slight flinch and pained expression that the other hid by looking away. 

 

“Thinking of her won’t bring her back.” She nodded at the cold statement. Despite him saying that, she knew that behind that cold exterior was sorrow. He had been the closest to her before she passed on.

 

“You’re right.” But that would allow her to live forever. Perhaps it was time that she lit a candle for her later on.

  
  
  
  


Walking around aimlessly, Brynn pondered why that girl was so familiar. Maybe they’ve met before? She was dying to know who she was. She knew the name, she asked Julius before she left for the mission. 

 

Alisa Illinichina Amiella. She struggled to remember the name due to its length and complicatedness. She already struggled with her name, she was too lazy to even write it down fully. Imagine if she had to complete some test or something, she remembered seeing those in the Norn. Where you had to shade boxes as your answers and names had a certain number of spaces.

 

‘23 letters for a name? How many letters did the alphabet have again?’ Her contemplation had been cut short when a sound from her comm distracted her. She groaned, forgetting to decrease the volume.

 

**“Blood Alpha, are you ready for extraction?”** She loomed over the waters of the destroyed roads. Its blue and white hues blending together well despite how demolished the place is. She couldn’t help but think of how nice this place must have been before it had been wrecked by aragami. According to the Norn, the place was previously known as Sapporo.

 

**“Blood Alpha? Are you active?”** She was brought back to reality upon hearing the voice. She pressed on her comm to respond.

 

“Yes, ready for extraction.” The line went blank, leaving her to her thoughts again.

 

A strong gust of wind had caused her to turn abruptly, her eyes widened at what she saw. A girl with dark brown locks that reached below her chin, violet eyes, and an ominous smile. She was dressed in flimsy red halter and pants that were ripped in some parts. She had a piece of cloth tied around her waist. 

 

“Aren’t you a curious one.” She voiced out in a singsong manner. “Do you really wanna know who you really are?” Brynn cocked an eyebrow at this and firmly gripped her scythe. The mysterious girl noticed this and chuckled, “Calm down, tiger. I’m not going to bite.” She grinned, showing her sharp incisors.

 

“Yeah, that really is convincing.” She sarcastically replied with an eye roll. Her grip did loosen upon seeing the armlet that the other one had. But, why would a God Eater go out without her God Arc?

 

As if the girl had been reading her mind, she answered, “It’s under repair. Listen, Eos.” Eos? Brynn’s eyebrows scrunched together in an annoyed function. Irritated at the fact that some random girl was getting on her nerves and suddenly calling her names and even tempting her. “I have a proposal.” 

 

A glare, one that lived out the saying if looks could kill, appeared on Brynn’s face. “Why would I accept an offer from someone that I don’t even know?” The stranger was really putting her off. She usually was calm and collected, rarely upset and aggravated by people. (Unless they steal her fried chicken, like a certain black haired girl did once, and never again.) The giggle only fueled her irritation.

 

“Nessa. Nessa Volere. Not that it’s an important detail. No.” The girl, Nessa, slyly replied. She cleared her throat before continuing, “As I was saying earlier, before you decided to interrupt me.” Brynn huffed. “I have a proposal.”

 

“Not interested.” Brynn swung Auricle over her shoulder before walking away. She needed to make it back to the extraction point, it was getting kind of chilly anyways.

 

A giggle had nearly stopped her from her tracks as it brought goosebumps to her skin, “Even if it causes you to remember everything?” She didn’t stop walking. “Wouldn’t you want to know what branch you came from? Or who that Alisa girl was? Or maybe even your parents and how you became a God Eater.”

 

It was her principle to not make deals with people that were anomalous, but the girl was tugging on her curiosity. It was true that she wanted to know those things, maybe listening to the girl’s proposal wouldn’t be so bad, right?

 

“What do you want?” She gave in, failing to see the victorious smirk that the other had on her face.

 

“Ah, so I finally caught you attention? Here I thought that you’d be more stubborn. Oh well, not that I’m complaining.” She felt her grip around her Scythe tighten, feeling the cold steel against her bare skin. The girl continued to ramble on, putting her in a state of anticipation of what deal the other had in mind.

 

“Oi, stop wasting my time.”

 

Nessa huffed in annoyance, “You’re starting to act like… Oh! I almost slipped.” She hummed for awhile, “Let’s call him Aion. Yeah, that’s perfect. Anyways! So here’s the deal, sweet Eos.” There was a glint of mischievousness in her eyes that Brynn knew did not mean anything good. She listened on anyways.

  
  
  
  


_ “Once you’ve done all that, I’ll tell you everything.”  _

 

Those words continued to pester her on the flight back. She just arrived back at Friar and was currently making her way to the garden, where Ciel had requested them to meet. She needed something to do take her mind off things anyways. Company would do her good as well.

 

“Vice Captain, you made it.” Despite the seriousness that was present in Ciel’s tone. She knew that there was a tinge of enthusiasm in what she said which put her a bit at ease. She found it nice that she managed to break through the silver-haired girl’s shell. Brynn skipped towards her with a sheepish grin on her face. 

 

She couldn’t tell her the exact same reason why she was late, but she could somehow say a creative truth, “Chi-You was being difficult.” She managed to convince the younger one. “So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?” She asked with a genuine smile recalling the email that the girl had sent her.

 

_ From: Ciel Alençon  _

_ Subject: Informal Meeting _

_ Message: Hello, Vice Captain. Do you have time later? There’s something that I would like to discuss with you. _

 

_ Ciel Alençon _

 

“Ah, of course.” She paused for a while, “Blood is an amazing unit, capable of coordinating and operating well despite the different personalities and styles of each member.” She gave a rare gentle smile, “I’m truly glad that I am part of Blood, although…” Brynn noticed the sadness flash in the younger one’s eyes. “I believe that the others believe that I am too assertive regarding the tactics that I’ve been trying to reach out to them with.” She paused and looked up at the Blonde who had been listening patiently, “I was wondering…”

 

“If we could be friends?” Her words earned her a wide-eyed look from her companion. She had been expecting this, thinking that the Vice Captain would take it in a negative manner and would even reject her. Nevertheless, what the other did in response had taken her by surprise.

 

“You don’t even need to ask that, Ciel.” She felt the other’s vibrations as she spoke. Her forehead had been pressed against the taller one’s sternum, she felt a pair of warm arms wrapping around her. Habitually, she would have put on a defensive mode and push someone away or moved away whenever someone had gotten too close, but for some reason, she was at ease. She didn’t feel the need to do such.

 

“I am honored that you want me to be your friend.” The blonde continued, placing her chin over the other’s head. “I am also certain that the others aren’t upset with you, they want to reach out. But honestly, you are kind of hard to see through.” She slightly pulled away to get a good look at Ciel. A grin reached her face upon seeing the happy look that she had been met with.

 

“Really? Thank you so much, Vi-”

 

“Just Brynn, Ciel.” She softly reminded. She knew that the other would press on with calling her by that title but she wouldn't tire of reminding them.

 

“Thank you, Brynn.” She corrected herself, albeit uncomfortable calling her superior in such a casual manner, “I’m happy to have my first friend.”

  
  
  
  


_ A pair of bright yellow eyes met her caramel colored ones, the scene was in a snowy and cold place. The dark blue skies and white ground had filled her vision. A white figure in front of her, which sported the yellow eyes, whispered in a soft yet audible voice. _

 

_ “I’m hungry?” _

 

She woke up. It was another of those weird dreams that she had been constantly having. Her eyes met the moon which was now green in color for some reason. She recalled it being white, but maybe her 3 years of being inactive had modified some of her prior knowledge. 

 

It’s bright hues light up the night sky, she sighed after running a hand through the grass that surrounded her. “I fell asleep, again.” Her stomach growled in response. “I suppose that dreams do have meaning.” She scoffed at the thought before pushing herself up. How long has she been here? It must have been a couple of hours since she and Ciel had talked. She insisted on staying as the other left to finish more tactics and edit some bullets.

 

“I wonder if they saved me my dinner.” She grumbled while making her way to the elevator, mumbling something along the lines of, “There’s fried chicken tonight.”

  
  
  
  


He hadn’t seen her all day and he was getting worried that the girl must have gotten herself into trouble again. It was a normal occurrence especially if the girl was out on her own. He had heard from the operator that his vice captain had gone out on a solo mission.

 

“The idiot hasn’t eaten yet either.” The 6 footer stared down on the two trays that he had set in front of him. The cafeteria was about to close, they were allowed to stay but they wouldn’t have food if the services close. 

 

He did promise her lunch after all. He chuckled to himself of how much of a freeloader the vice captain was. Still, despite her being playful, rowdy and sarcastic. No one could say no to her. She had a charm that not even their own captain could resist. She was capable of making everyone to give in to her wants.

 

She had them wrapped around her finger. Not in a bad way, she didn’t seem like the type to take advantage of people. She was usually joking around about people treating her but they would anyways.

 

“Speak of the devil.” He mused after seeing the girl he was thinking about enter the area. He saw the pout on her face as she glanced around the empty glass storages that once contained food. The cafeteria had closed and left her to either starve the entire night. Or to burst into someone’s room and snack on whatever they had. She had Nana’s room in mind.

 

He waited for her to notice him. Trying not to deter his gaze while the other wandered around, she eventually turned to where he was sitting and her face lit up like a Christmas tree. She skipped to where he was sitting and perched on the bench across him.

 

“Gilbert~” She chanted his name while eyeing the food. He knew what she wanted and with a sigh, pushed the tray towards her. She further beamed and stood up to hug the male, a blush spread across his face causing him to pull his cap farther down. “You love me~” He scoffed at this, but that had been ignored by the female. 

 

The brunette couldn’t help but speculate why the girl was extremely moody. She would appear serious then suddenly switch to someone who was cheerful and  _ annoying,  _ then she would be quiet again. It most likely depends on who she was with. He shrugged the thought upon realizing that it was normal behavior.

 

“Eat before it gets called.” He coldly stated while pushing her away, this caused her to tuck her tongue into her cheek while traipsing over to her seat. She clasped her hands together and mumbled a small prayer. Earning a questioning look from the taller male. She dismissed it and gave a small smile then they ate.

 

Gil watched from under his cap how fast the girl ate. It wasn’t that she was a messy eater, she just ate at a pace that was quicker than him. Of course, not as fast as Nana. No one could rival her. 

 

“So I heard that you went on a solo mission?” He broke the silence, the two were done eating but continued to converse in the cafeteria. They had the place all to themselves.

 

The blonde nodded, “Yeah, Dr. Rachel’s request.” She pushed her tray to the side, the male doing the same. 

 

She had been going on these missions a lot lately, the doctor claiming that she needed the cores for one of her projects, of course, she didn’t ask. It was somehow none of her business anyways. She had gone on 3 already within the week and knew that she possibly would be subjected to more in the coming days. It didn’t bother her too much, the missions were relatively easy and she wasn’t being forced to do anything to dangerous. Although, she did want to know why she was the one chosen. Even before she had the title of Vice Captain, she was brought out on these missions. 

 

“Ah, by the way.” Gil brought her out of her thoughts, “Ciel approached me earlier. Apologizing…’ His voice trailed off, Brynn gave a small smile and a nod of approval.

 

“That’s good, I suppose that she’s finally opening up.” She was happy that the talk that the two previously had, managed to get through the girl’s heart. She wasn’t entirely sure if what she said was the right thing to say. She wasn’t the best at this kinds of things. She just said whatever felt right.

 

The two continued to idly chat when a yawn from Brynn had caused them to realize what time it already was. The blonde was the first to stand up, “Hey, Gil. Thanks for the food, we should rest. Heard that we have a meeting with the director tomorrow morning.” She stretched as her companion followed her in standing up. 

 

“Yeah, I’ll go get something to drink.” Brynn cocked an eyebrow at this, she knew what he meant by this. He wasn’t referring to water or soda. Knowing him, it would be scotch or even drambuie if it was available. Since she wasn’t fond of drinking, only during special occasions or celebrations, she would give him her share. She shrugged her shoulders in response and began to walk towards the housing areas.

 

“Don’t stay up too late.” She reminded him before leaving the cafeteria.

 

“Yes, mom.” She spun around to roll her eyes at him before walking away for good.

  
  


Brynn typed away on the terminal which she secretly loathed. As promised, she returned the Captain’s laptop so she was stuck to using her best friend called the terminal.

 

“They could have provided us with individual laptops instead of these big ass terminals. Would have caused half the credits.” She rolled her eyes to no one in particular and worked on the reports. She offered to do half of the Captain’s and her own reports. 

 

“That was a stupid idea.” She mused out loud.

 

An email suddenly appeared on her screen. She clicked on the electronic letter and her eyes widened at the message and recipient.

From: Nessa Volere

Subject: It was!

Message: Don’t forget about what I told you, dear Eos! It’s worth considering. 

 

Her eyebrows furrowed in annoyance, she wasn’t just annoyed, she was creeped out. How did that strange brunette even know or hear what she said. She closed the email. The thought of the strange girl further bothered her.

 

After multiple corrections and edits, she finished the reports. She sighed in relief and closed the terminal, plumping down on her bed. She had no idea who that mysterious ‘Nessa’ was but she didn’t seem like someone who she should trust. Not even the slightest. The fact that she appeared out of nowhere and disappeared from her sight, and that whatever had been in the email was something of the present.

 

Her request had been easy however. It was something that she was willing to do, if asked from someone that she actually knew. It seemed strange coming from the violet-eyed girl.

 

‘To say yes to everything that Rachel asks of you…’

 

What connections she had with the scientist, she had no idea. She shrugged the thought and figured that if she continued to think so deeply about it, she would get a headache or something. Maybe she was going insane, or hallucinating. Or eating too much fried chicken.

  
  
  



	10. Nove

“Reporting in, Director Grem.” Julius began the moment that the three stepped into the room. They all bowed their heads when the Chief Supervisor, Dr. Leah, passed them. She gave a small smile, a lingering gaze on Brynn before she left.

 

It wasn’t Brynn’s first time in the director’s office. The last time was when Romeo dragged her in here to pester the director, they got yelled out and kicked out. Who could blame him though, Romeo asked questions regarding his connection with the idol that he obviously admired. 

 

_ “Come on, Brynn!” Flailed the blonde male as he followed the vice captain like a lost puppy. The pout on his face not fading away, “It’s really important! We have to talk to Director Grem. Please.”  _

 

_ She spun around and gave an annoyed look, “Fine. Let’s go.” Her friend’s face lit up the moment that she complied. She sighed and figured that it was something important. _

 

_ Boy, she was wrong. _

 

“I was informed you wished to speak with my team and I?” She was snapped from her thoughts when Julius spoke up once again. The three of them stood with attention in front of the desk. Brynn couldn’t help but grimace at the  foul scent that clouded the room. It came from the cigars that the director smoked nonstop. 

 

_ “Leader, if you keep smoking, it will be the death of you.” She said with a disapproving expression. The figure clad in brown simply shrugged his shoulders before answering. A puff of smoke coming from his mouth. _

 

_ “Better than being Aragami feed.” She scoffed before walking away. _

 

Crinkling her nose in displeasure, she earned a discerning look from the Captain who happened to look her way.

 

She gave a small smile before paying attention. It was the director’s turn to speak. Fortuitously, the plump man didn’t see the faces that she was making. She wouldn’t be surprised if she lost her job sooner or later with her behavior. 

 

“As per Dr. Rachel’s request, I want you Blood Unit” he said the name with disgust and in a degrading manner, “to take lead in conducting the upcoming God Arc Soldier exercises.” He turned to the skinny scientist standing by the edge of his table, “Kujo, elaborate for me.” With that being said, he scrambled and stuttered.

 

“O-Of course, Director.” He gave a slight nod, somewhat putting himself at ease, “I understand that you, Captain Julius and Ms. Alencon, worked under Dr. Leah and Dr. Rachel.” He gave a short glance to Brynn before turning back to the two, now she felt useless.

 

The two were raised together after all, in the same place and by the same people. They may have been promising as children thus earning them such positions and responsibilities at early ages. Now, if only she could remember what her experiences were when she was younger. The frustration and curiosity was getting to her. 

 

“Yes,” Julius answered, “That is true. They raised us, in fact. Both Ciel and I served as test pilots in the earlier phases of the God Arc Soldier Project.”

 

See?

 

Brynn listened intently anyways, taking in all the small details and terms that she would probably forget later on. The scientist perked up at what the young captain just told him.

 

“Very good!” He chimed in with a smile gracing his face. “Yes, very good indeed.” 

 

‘That doesn’t sound creepy at all.’ Brynn thought as she watched the scientist grin in an ominous way. Perhaps she was overthinking things.

 

“Then I’ll be brief. I need you to observe the soldiers in combat and defend them.” He hesitated a bit before continuing, “If necessary.” Brynn was about to stuff her hands in her pockets, when she realized that she didn’t have any so she crossed them over her chest instead. She tried to stop herself from covering her nose as the smoke just kept getting thicker.

 

‘Hope that you get lung cancer.’ She side glared at the director who was busy staring at nothing with a smile on his face as he puffed smoke.

 

“We require 1-on-1 combat data, so your task is to clear the operation area. Please ensure that nearby aragami will not be a threat.” Kujo added, Julius hummed in response.

 

“So we’re the opening act?” He pointed out, the emotion in his voice was unreadable.

 

Another puff of smoke filled the air before the director responded, “Exactly.” A sly grin creeped on his lips. “You best not forget it, boy. The God Arc Soldiers are the star of the show.” Chastising them while the vice captain tried to hold back her eye roll.

 

‘Not just lung cancer hopefully.’ For someone who has never been in the battlefield or had contact with aragami, he sure was putting them down a lot.  She dismissed the thought of tossing him out the building, she was irritable today for some reason.

 

“Do I make myself understood?”

 

“Yes, sir.” A curt response from the captain with a nod. With that being said, they were shooed outside, to be briefed by the male scientist who followed them.

  
  


Julius ran over to the desk where Fran was talking on her comm and typing briskly. Her eyebrows were furrowed together which further fueled the captain’s concern.

 

“Is Blood still engaged?” He asked after slamming his hands on the counter. She nodded and muttered a short response while typing away on her keyboard, her eyes fixated on the computer screen. She gasped.

 

**“God Arc Soldier Beta has taken server damage. What are you orders?”** Julius immediately recognized Ciel’s voice. His breath was hitched in his throat as he tightened his grip on the counter, waiting for a response. Despite the situation the young girl was in, she remained calm.

 

“Ciel, I’ll deactivate God Arc Unit Beta. Defend it and repel aragami until we can mount a rescue.” The operator’s hands worked on accomplishing what she just said. Green eyes scanning the computer when she was abruptly stopped.

 

“Delay that!” Julius cut in, the rage in his voice was obvious, “I saw strange clouds on my return. I’m certain that they were red nimbus.” He just arrived from a solo mission that had been assigned by Rachel. Something to keep him busy with.

 

Fran’s eyes widened upon what she heard, she whispered lowly, “No… Red Nimbus.”

  
  


A group of three God Eaters looked over at the distance. Red, thundering masses of clouds came at them at a breakneck pace. They could hardly contain the fear on their faces, they were alone together. Nothing could provide them comfort as the smell of decaying oracle cells, metallic smell of blood, only added fuel to their nerves.

 

“Gil here.” The tallest and oldest among them pressed on his earpiece, “We can confirm the presence of the Red Nimbus.” Romeo walked up to him with awe in his face. It had been overshadowed by his fear, however.

 

“I’ve heard the rumors, but other than in Friar, I’ve never seen one in person. This is insane!” His eyes widened when a bolt of lighting had flashed in the sky. Nana remained behind the entire time as the trio discerned the scene in front of them. She gasped when an Aragami dropped from the skies in front of them. A Chi-You that taunted them the moment that it hit the ground.

 

“Romeo, keep an eye on Unit Omega.” Gil slashed the air with his weapon, getting ready to attack. Romeo nodded and switched to his gun, staying near the God Arc Soldier.

  
  


She felt useless. 

 

Hopeless.

 

Idle.

 

Meaningless.

 

Incompetent.

 

Every negative word that she had in her vocabulary, could perfectly describe her. She was alone, assigned to watch one of the soldiers, Unit Gamma in particular. Like Ciel had been assigned to Beta. She froze upon hearing that her friend was in danger. 

 

“ _ Brynn, as vice captain, make sure that they are all safe.” The ochre haired male said with a hand firmly placed on the smaller one’s shoulder. The usual gentle expression that he had for her, was replaced with a serious one.  _

 

_ “Yes, Captain.” She bowed slightly before hustling towards the God Arc storage area where all of them had been waiting. _

 

She heard the orders that Gil was barking out to the rest of the unit after an Aragami appeared. She was supposed to protect them. She gazed at the crimson clouds that threatened them. She had to do something.

 

Turning her head slightly, her eyes met the metallic figure that she was ‘protecting.’ An idea crossed her mind. It was crazy, and risky, but it might just work.

 

“I’m gonna get in trouble.” Then an image of her teammates getting hurt flashed. She shivered at the thought of it.

 

“Fuck it.”

  
  


Julius hastily activated his own comm, the moment that it picked up signal, he ordered, “Blood Unit, withdraw immediately! There isn’t enough time.” He was tormented by the thought of his comrades getting hurt. 

 

Although he had ordered Brynn to watch over them, it was still his unit, he was still captain. If anything were to happen to them…

 

**“Captain, it may be too late, red rain has begun to fall here.”** Ciel’s somber voice came through. He clenched his teeth and cursed.

 

“Damn!” He turned to the operator who had the same panic and fear on her face, “Fran, where’s the transport squad?” She checked the screen, typing a few times on the keyboard when her shoulders sagged. That wasn’t a good sign, Julius knew it.

 

“They’re surrounded, trying to fight through the Aragami.” She paused before sighing sadly, “I don’t think that they’ll make it on time.” She wistfully confessed. Julius cursed once again.

 

“All Blood members, your new orders are to put on the suits and rescue Ciel!” He continued to bark orders. The silver-haired girl was the only thing on his mind right now and her safety. He assumed that since she was the only one that had been separated.

 

“Whatever you do, Ciel. Stay out of the rain.” Before he could carry on or even listen to a response, a new voice had cut in.

 

“Stop! You do not have the authority to do that.” The newcomer challenged, all eyes turned to where the voice came from.

 

Julius’ teeth gritted at the sight and his hands curled up into  fists, he was trying his best to remain calm and respectful towards the superior, “Director Grem.” He acknowledged through clenched teeth. 

 

“Tell your  _ minions _ , that the God Arc Soldiers are their  _ first _ and  _ only _ priority.” He put emphasis on his words, as if mocking the captain, “Order them to aid to their defense.” He added, not considering the lives that were to be put at risk.

 

“Sir!” Julius exclaimed, an incredulous look on his face, “That’s impossible, they cannot fight in the rain.” He reasoned out, hands still pulled into a fist. An angered shout came from the older man.

 

“How dare you question me, Julius?! You will defend the God Arc Soldiers even at the cause of your life!” This caused Julius to boil over, he slammed his hand hard on the counter which had the young operator flinch in surprise.

 

Poor counter was taking a beating that day.

 

“Have you gone mad? I won’t abandon her! You know damn well how dangerous the rain is!” Before he could even answer back even more, a calm voice from their comms had been heard by all. 

 

It was Ciel, her voice was still composed, Julius knew that there was more to it,  **“Captain, I will stay by the God Arc Soldier’s side.”** She continued to say how he should stop defending her.  **“I’m truly honored to have fought by your side.”** The line went blank.

 

The director snickered upon hearing what the girl just said, Julius no longer hid his glare. The director dismissed him however and continued to laugh with glee.

 

“Ciel! Respond, Ciel!” He slammed the counter once again in chagrin. He could no longer hear her voice.

 

“She deactivated her comm.” Fran informed him after checking the state that the unit was in. 

 

“That young lady is well-trained, indeed! She’s made the right choice and saved your career with it,  _ captain. _ ” Sarcasm was dripping as he mentioned the title. The scowl on Julius’ face had vanished, his attention had been taken away once again by a loud curse on the comm. 

 

**“Uh, Captain?”** Nana’s hesitant voice was heard, prompting him to immediately respond.

 

“What is it, Nana?” He hoped for good news, but the string of curses that erupted from Gil’s mouth didn’t provide him with much comfort.

 

**“That fucking idiot.”** He heard, causing him to cock an eyebrow. What the hell was happening?

 

Nana’s voice came through once again, after a loud explosion,  **“It’s the vice Captain,”** She paused as another explosion and came through,  **“She kind off… Flew off in a God Arc Soldier. We couldn’t stop her cause she was separated from us.”** Julius’ eyes widened.

 

“What?” He growled. Two of his comrades were in danger, one wasn’t on purpose and the other was being plain reckless. He had the urge to run out, but the loud thundering cry of the red nimbus had reminded him that he couldn’t.

 

Fran gasped which earned his attention, “The Aragami signals are going dark, and Gamma is on an intercepted course with Beta!” She voiced out as she examined the screen. So those explosions were coming from the Vice Captain navigating the God Arc Soldier.

 

Grem sighed in irritation, as much as he wanted to get rid of the entire unit, he couldn’t. It would rid them of puppets and tools, he scolded Julius before walking away. He needed a cigar, or maybe Leah. Whichever of the two would do.

 

The two watched the retreating figure of the plump man, they were now focused on the Blood Unit, when Julius began to erupt in a series of chuckles. Fran could only stare at him with disbelief, wondering what was going on with the captain.

 

She simply sighed before turning back to the computer screen, a small smile appearing on her face upon what she saw.

  
  


“Oh my, I may have timed things incorrectly once again.” A whimsical voice echoed in an empty room, as a figure clad in black typed and examined the screen in front of her. 

 

A smile curled on her lips upon seeing the charts that she had closely been examining.

 

“Fascinating…” She mused as the focused on the erratic changing stats of the God Arc Soldier a certain blonde was currently navigating. She turned her gaze to the other set of stats that belonged to each member. Three names were written in red, previously, only two had been red. There was a new addition to the fray.

 

“My sweet Brynn… You truly are a blessing from above. I suppose that I can have you play for a bit longer, little one?” Soft giggles resonated in the room, the figure still focused on the large screen in front of her.

 

Everything was falling into place. Perhaps she could even get what she wanted earlier.

  
  
  



	11. Diece

She grunted after being tossed into her home for the next few days. A plain grey room that had a toilet, sink and a bed. A metal bed that had no sheets or pillows. The metallic door slammed close, causing her to flinch at the sound.

 

She had been thrown into the brig the moment that they arrived. She was expecting it though, she had no regrets. A small smile played on her face upon remembering what had occured.

 

She kept them safe. That’s what matters most.

 

She was alone, she thought she was, a few minutes had passed since she was thrown into the cell, when soft footsteps padded down the hallway. They stopped in front of her room. Brynn looked up from where she was currently sprawled and saw a certain silver-haired girl. She gave a gentle smile and stood up, groaning a bit at the hardness of the surface she was lying on.

 

“How are you?” She asked, making her way towards the door and looked through the metal bars that separated them. She would have laughed at how pitiful her situation was. A punishment like this was useless, she was willing to do every reckless thing just to keep the people that she loved safe.

 

“Why?” Her eyebrows furrowed upon hearing that word, tilting her head to the side as she waited for the other to continue, “Why would you risk yourself for my sake? Operating a God Arc Soldier requires screening and even so…” The young girl choked out a sob, “You could have died!” Her voice trembled as she gripped the metal bars.

 

“You could have died…” She repeated, her eyes downcast. “You risked yourself, you risked your life, your career… Just for me…” She rambled on, Brynn only remained silent and listened intently.

 

Never has she experienced such warmth. No one has ever done something so risky for her and she not once expected that form anyone in the unit. Despite the girl imprisoned being one of her first friends, she never thought that she would do something as insane as that.

 

She was ready to die, ready to fight till the death. That was what she was taught, even at a young age. But here she was, breathing and alive. She looked up, her silver eyes meeting caramel ones. In those caramel eyes, was warmth that she had never seen before. 

 

“Wouldn’t you have done the same?” The words caused her eyes to widen. Brynn no longer waited for a response as she continued, “I’m your friend, remember? My career and my own life will never be more important than your wellbeing.” The older one added with a gentle smile, allowing her hand to reach over to her waiting for her to reach out.

 

Ciel stared at the hand, slowly releasing her grip from the metal bars and slowly reached over to touch the expecting fingers. She sighed upon making contact.

 

“Thank you, no one has ever risked themselves for me.” She paused, “No one until you…” She added, reciprocating the smile. This elicited a chuckle from the imprisoned one.

 

“I’d be willing to do it again.” She playfully winked and pulled her hand away. “You should probably get going, I don’t want you to get in trouble.” The other refused to budge at first, a concerned look plastered on her features. This earned another chuckle to come from the vice captain. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. I’ll sleep through everything.” 

 

She wasn’t kidding. That way, time would go faster. Ciel smiled in amusement anyways. She thanked her one last time before walking away. Brynn watched in silence at the retreating figure. The moment that she no longer could see her, she slumped down on the metallic bed and a sad smile graced her lips.

 

She was sad, for the shallowest reason, not once did the Captain look for her during the mission. She wasn’t jealous, she was just sad that she didn’t even cross his minds. She groaned at the thought and shook her head to dismiss it. 

 

At least she fulfilled her responsibility as vice captain and as a friend.

 

She continued to stare at the ceiling, everything in the brig was silent. When her loud curse echoed throughout the walls.

 

“I forgot to ask her to save me some chicken!”

 

~’~’~

 

It’s been three days. Three days since she’s been locked up in that small, white, confinement with almost no human contact. To say that she was bored is an understatement. She was teetering over the edge of falling into insanity. 

 

Of course, that was an exaggeration.

 

Despite reassurance that she gave to her friend a few days ago that she would be fine. She sort of wasn’t. She wanted to see the garden again, her solace. She wanted to eat food that she could actually swallow. (Fried chicken in particular. Vegetables even, just not whatever concoction that they served in the brig.) 

 

She wanted to bathe in her favorite bathroom stall. She did get to shower but she had a time limit, and the water was extremely cold. As if they put ice in the shower. She felt like a whiny brat but she couldn’t help it.

 

Although, she wasn’t quite ready yet to face her teammates. During the past few days, only Ciel has been visiting her. She appreciated the effort and the time that the girl put. Despite the younger one being quiet and somewhat stiff when they first interacted, she had gone a long way. 

 

Brynn was close to drifting off to sleep, her eyes closing on its own accord as she stared at the dreary ceiling. The moment that her eyes closed, the metallic doors slid open causing her to sit up instantly. The brisk action had caused her head to spin a bit, she blinked and held it a few times before looking towards the door.

 

“You’re free to go.” The man, clad in Friar’s uniform which was mainly green, informed her, stepping to the side indicating that she should go. Incapable of stopping the grin that was slowly reaching her face, she hurried out of her home for the past 3 days. 

 

Before she could head out, the man called out to her, “Dr. Rachel is requesting for you to go to her office, do proceed there before doing anything else.” Despite being curious, she nodded and thanked him before skipping away. 

 

She just wanted to be out of that damn place. 

  
  


“Hello, Brynn. You’re looking well.” She couldn’t tell whether the older woman was being sarcastic or not. If this was any of her peers, she would have responded with something more brash.

 

“Good day, Dr. Rachel. You wanted to see me?” She answered while closing the door behind her. She was met with the neat and large laboratory that the doctor and sister had for themselves. The large screen showing the silhouette of God Arc Soldier and…

 

Hers?

 

The woman noticed the questioning look on the other one’s face which caused her to giggle. Brynn snapped her head back to the younger Claudius, waiting for an explanation.

 

“You see, Amaryllis.” She began, using the name that she wasn’t usually called by, “I have learned some interesting things about you.” This further captured the girl’s attention, causing her to tilt her head slightly to the side which was one of her habits. Rachel motioned to the seat that was in front of her, urging the other one to sit down. Albeit hesitant, she sat down.

 

She had a feeling that this was going to take some time.

 

“Let’s begin with your Blood Power; Evoke. You have the ability to awaken other people’s Blood Power. Which was the case with Ciel.” Brynn nodded slowly in understanding, brushing her bangs to the side with her hand the moment that they got in her eyes.

 

‘I need to cut these soon.’

 

“Another is your strange compatibility with the God Arc Soldier. Like your God Arc, you have to be a match in order to operate these. The highest compatibility that we had was with Ciel, which was 78% compatible.” She turned to the screen and began typing something on her keyboard. Brynn only watched with interest as multiple tabs appeared on the screen, the moment that the woman stopped, she saw her name along with a few charts.

 

“Your compatibility was 95%. Which is quite high and almost unbelievable. If your level of compatibility was low, it could have lead to your death.” She swallowed the lump in her throat upon hearing that. “This would portend that you are capable of doing something remarkable with your own God Arc.” 

 

“What do you mean?”

The golden haired woman pressed something else on her keyboard before continuing, it was an outline of her and her God Arc. Different numbers and characters surrounded it, she couldn’t comprehend it herself. 

 

“It means that you can use different types of God Arc. Ones that you have forged on your own and with your own materials, of course.” She added, Brynn’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You are currently using the Variant Scythe, am I correct?” Not waiting for answer, she continued, “You also have the means of using the Short Blade, Long Blade, Buster Blade and the other kinds of weapons.”

 

Her? Capable of wielding those? She only remembered wielding her scythe, not once has she tried using other weapons. The idea seemed ridiculous, she had this connection with Auricle and the thought of using other weapons seemed wrong.

 

“Perhaps you should consider experimenting on these, Amaryllis. Now, for the reason why I called you.” Brynn felt the hair on the back of neck slowly rise, she was sensing something wrong.

 

“Your Blood Power and your interesting compatibility could help with the development of the God Arc Soldiers. If you agree to help with the project, the God Arc Soldier Project can be accomplished within a few months instead of the years that we were expecting.” All the information that she was getting was taxing. But, she didn’t mind the idea of helping.

 

“You do not need to answer me now, Brynn.” Rachel finally called her by her first name, despite the comfort it was supposed to bring, she only felt more pressured. The small smile on the woman’s face had not made her feel any better as well. There was something behind that smile, she just knew it.

 

‘I shouldn’t be jumping into conclusions.’ She thought to herself while staring back at the bright blue eyes that locked with her own. 

 

“I know that you must be surprised after all this information, you are free to go.” With that being said, she stood up and gave a slight bow. “However, do consider letting go of Auricle, you might find something greater in store for you.” 

 

Despite how much her mind was rejecting the idea, she gave a curt nodded and excused herself from the laboratory. She sighed deeply as she ran a hand through her platinum colored hair. Making her way to the lift that she came in. Her finger pressed on the button, feeling its cold surface.

 

She liked the idea of finally being useful, of being able to help. However, she couldn’t shake of the uneasy feeling that she was having. She didn’t understand why she had it or what was causing her to feel that way, but it was there.

 

Ever since that Volere girl appeared, she was always on the edge whenever the doctor was around. Numerous thoughts ran through her head the moment that she stepped in the elevator. 

 

_ “To say yes to everything that Rachel asks of you.” _

 

Before she could trouble herself even more with the thoughts in her head, her stomach decided to growl signifying her hunger. Rolling her eyes she spoke to no one in particular, “Way to ruin the moment.”

  
  


The platinum haired girl made her way towards the cafeteria. She first stepped out of the elevator and arrived at the lobby’s first floor. She sighed in relief upon not seeing anyone.

 

She knew that a certain Scottish man would berate her the moment that he lays his eyes on her. Cringing at the thought of that, she hastily made her way towards the hallway that would lead to the cafeteria.

 

“So you’re finally out.” She froze upon hearing the voice and swallowed the lump that was lodged in her throat. Fate was currently messing around with her. Turning slowly, her caramel colored eyes met with cobalt ones.

 

She gulped and gave a sheepish smile, still not fully facing her teammate, “Hi, Gil! Yeah, was just about to get some lunch, so… bye!” Before she could sprint away, a firm hand landed on her shoulder, stopping her. The strong grip on her shoulder pulled her so that she was facing her source of fear.

 

The same cobalt eyes had a glint of anger in them, she tried to avert her own but she couldn’t bring herself to do so, so she found herself drowning in blue eyes.

 

Before she could say anything, she was taken aback by the way her comrade was shaking her, his face contorted into one of worry, “How the damn hell could you be so reckless?!” He demanded more than asked, she could only stare up and purse her lips together. Eyebrows ruffling in annoyance as the older male continued to assault her with words.

 

“Hey! At least I’m still alive-ow!” She pointed out the moment that the man let her go, she wasn’t able to continue her sentence as the man pulled on her ear. It didn’t hurt but it took her by surprise. 

 

“You’re going to wish that you died when I’m done with you, idiot!” Finding a narrow way to escape, she took it the moment that the man was about to drag her off to somewhere else. She snaked under his right arm and darted towards the elevator that she previously came in. She dashed inside and repeatedly pressed the close button. She could see the figure of Gil running towards her but the elevator closed just in time. She unconsciously pressed on the floor that lead to the garden.

 

What transpired earlier made her feel that she was being chased by a pack of Ogretails or even Kongous. This caused her to shiver at the thought while slumping against the elevator’s metallic wall. She grumbled something that related to her hunger. Before she could continue complaining, the elevator’s doors parted open, snapping her back to reality.

 

She stepped out and sighed in relief, her usual reaction whenever she would visit her favorite place on Friar. Breathing in the fresh air that the garden provided and taking in the sunlight that came with the bright blue skies. She was relieved that the red clouds the other day were gone. Although it reminded her of what happened 3 days ago, and of the time that she was stuck in that damned place.

 

She definitely wasn’t going to do anything as dumb as that again. Or, she would try to not get caught.

 

A voice coming from the tree had pulled her out of her reverie.

 

“Vice Captain.” Her eyes widened upon realizing who it was. Blood’s Captain, Julius. His voice remained calm and stern, despite that, he held a hard gaze. A hard and rare gaze that was directed at her. 

 

‘First Gil, now Julius?’ She remained glued on the spot. The male approached her, his strides were long and he stopped in front of her within a few seconds. Her instincts yelled ‘run’, but she was bound to face them anyways.

 

“Hello, Captain. Lovely day that we’re having.” She gave a sheepish smile, trying to alleviate the tension that they were currently in. Her attempt failed as the other was near piercing holes into her with his glare.

 

“Indeed.” Julius replied, he had come to the garden earlier to reflect, and knew that it was the perfect time because of the weather. However, that wouldn’t distract him from his purpose of wanting to talk to her. “However, that is not what I want to discuss with you at the moment.” He noticed how she flinched. Her eyebrows furrowing together in the process and how her smile threatened to dip down.

 

He almost felt guilty. Almost. However, he could no longer have her do such reckless things that would lead to her death.

 

“I would like to first thank you.” He began with a light smile finally gracing his lips. He was upset, but not to the point that he would scream at her. It was Gil’s job and he was quite sure that the other had fulfilled it quite well. He prevented himself from smiling even more upon seeing the perplexity that was now evident on his Vice Captain’s face. “For saving Ciel, what you executed was courageous.” He could see her lips twitching from a straight line into a smile, but failed upon doing so the moment that he continued.

 

“However, that does not change the fact that what you did was imprudent.” He saw her flinch, he remained silent and waited for a response from the girl. Not seeing her move, he was about to continue.

 

“There was no other choice.” She replied in a serious manner, in a way that the Captain had not heard before. He hid his reaction through his facade. He knew that she was being defiant, “Ciel could have-”

 

“What were your orders, Vice Captain?” He immediately cut her off, he wouldn’t allow her to step out of line. Despite them being quite close outside of the battlefield, he needed to remain professional. Something that he had been neglecting quite recently. He watched her as her expression grew taut, her lips pursed in a fine line once again, her eyes screaming at him.

 

“Keep everyone safe.” She responded, although her answer was sure, he knew that she was confused, “Did I not fulfill them, Captain?” She asked with pure curiosity and confusion. The male could only sigh in response, his expression was now softening. 

 

“That includes you, Vice Captain.” She was surprised the moment that the male took a step towards her and even put a hand on her shoulder. The way that he spoke greatly differed from how he did earlier. He was being gentle, no longer spooking her like how he did earlier. 

 

The Captain did have a point, everyone entailed that she would be included, but she was willing to risk herself if it meant that there were no other options. She looked away, not capable of looking straight at the other’s eyes due to her shame.

 

Here the captain was trying to be kind despite the trouble that she had caused him. She knew that he had to face the director and the other higher ups due to her foolhardy actions. 

 

“Look at me.” He tenderly ordered, she slowly brought her face to meet his. Grey orbs clashing with her tawny ones. She felt her face grow warm upon realizing how close their faces were. From this distance she could fully examine his facial features. She knew that her Captain was handsome, but damn, being this close was different. 

 

His tousled blonde to ochre hair, thick and lustrous that perfectly framed his symmetrical face. His well set eyes. Grey eyes, despite how grey was usually deemed to be dull or boring, his was the complete opposite. 

 

They were bright, full of emotion, under the sunlight, they looked like Zircons, natural gems that were rarely found now. Along with that, were his lashes that were long for a male. It didn’t make him look feminine, in fact, it added to his appeal. It made her wonder why his lashes were nicer than her own. 

 

Thin eyebrows that were usually kept in a manner than made him look serious and strict. Her eyes began to trail downwards, to his nose that was slender and rounded, probably due to his own heritage. His thin and pale lips that were usually drew in a straight line, void of any emotion. Those features were accompanied by his fair and smooth skin. Her eyes widened the moment that she realized how intense her stare probably was, coughing to the side to awkwardly avoid his eyes.

 

Her cheeks flared and she prayed that he wouldn’t notice, she timidly looked back and waited for him to speak. 

 

“To have you out of commission would be detrimental to the team,” Her shoulders sagged a bit upon hearing those words. Was she expecting that he was telling this because of his own feelings. She dismissed the thought and continued to listen, “Do take into consideration your team, Blood. We can’t have any casualties that would result with the loss of a member.” She sadly nodded, his hand pulling away from her shoulders.

 

She wanted him to tell her more, but she was met with him walking past her. She sighed, which she thought was inaudible to the male. “I’ll have to go now, I have business to attend to. Do take time to make an appearance to the others. They are quite worried about you.”

 

“Yes, Captain…” Her voice trailed off upon hearing the metallic doors open then close. She failed to see the conflicted look on her Captain’s face. 

 

She knew that despite the friendship that the two of them had, the Captain would always choose to remain professional. Even with how casual they spoke, he remained serious and conducted himself with such authority. Sure, he would joke around a bit and loosen up, but the moment that he realized that, he would clamp up again. She couldn’t blame him, at such a young age, he had a lot of responsibilities and expectations. 

 

The sooner that she accepts this, the better. She knew that what she had done probably put a strain on their relationship. It would take quite some time before things would go back to normal.

 

It was her own fault. 


	12. Undici

_ Darkness. She was surrounded by it. It wasn’t an unusual occurrence for her. She knew that she was dreaming. This time, she would be only capable of hearing voices. The darkness no longer deceived her, she used to be frightened by its mere presence. The things that it brought her. The fear that was instilled in her. _

 

_ She was used to it. _

 

_ “Ah, Marco,” Came a male’s voice, a voice that seemed so familiar yet indistinguishable at the same time. Like most dreams, she couldn’t move. She couldn’t feel her muscles. She could only listen to whatever was happening and attempt to decipher them. _

 

_ “You’re on time, what did Adriana feed you this time?” The same voice added in an amused manner. Chuckles filled the room as she heard chairs being pulled, despite how gently it was being pulled, she heard them scratching the floor.  _

 

_ This time, another voice made itself known, it was a female’s, “Believe me, Luke, it took a lot of effort just to get him to wake up. He slept through his alarm, if I had not noticed, we wouldn’t be here until tomorrow, no?” She assumed that was Adriana, her voice was smooth as silk, almost seductive if she may add. She dismissed the thought upon hearing groans of complain. _

 

_ “You are embellishing things, amore.” A baritone voice, one that she assumed belongs to Marco, reverberating through the darkness. Followed by a soft chuckle, like rolling thunder billowing across dark skies.  _

 

_ She didn’t know the voices, but she was reminded of something. She couldn’t put her finger on it but it was on the tip of her tongue, tugging at her to remember what it was. The voices leisurely chatted as she drowned herself in thoughts. Unable to understand why she was dreaming of this. _

 

_ Another woman’s voice joined in. She was smitten by how lovely the voice was, a velvety voice that was lax and calming. Another voice that was familiar but she couldn’t understand why. “I suppose that we have the same woes, Adriana.” She heard the laughter of both women and dissenting groans of males.  _

  
  


_ Who were these people? They didn’t seem to be teenagers, their voices and speech pattern proved otherwise. Despite the way that they were acting, she had a feeling that this would be something of great importance. _

_ “Now,” Came Luke’s voice, the carefree tone he had earlier, expiring, replaced with one that was somber. She swore that the room grew tense as well. “Shall we begin with  _ _ Project Cesser?” _

 

_ ‘Project Cesser?’ She questioned as she heard papers being shuffled, pens scribbling on the said paper. _

 

_ “Ah, of course.” Came Marco’s deep voice. “We received the files that Alice sent the other day. What was stated there, was conducted 7 years ago, right?” He questioned, “That was when-” _

 

_ “The infection began.” The soft spoken woman from earlier cut in. She assumed that she was the Alice character. _

 

_ There was a brief silence, “It’s amazing how you were able to put the disregarded Bias Factor to good use. Imagine how this will benefit Fenrir’s defenses! We could even use it to stop the Aragami’s Oracle Cells from reforming if we apply this to the God Arc that we have now.” Adriana spoke, with excitement in her voice. Brynn was finally able to put the pieces together. _

 

_ Or so she thought. _

 

_ “True, however, the last report that we made was rejected by Fenrir. They claimed it to be a freak accident. Something out of sheer luck.” There was silence again.  _

 

_ “But imagine the possibilities!” Luke continued for Alice. There was desperation in his voice, “We can convince the higher ups, somehow. There is a way.” _

 

_ “They see you as a threat, Luke.” Alice reminded, her soft tone was gone, replaced with a sad and firm one. _

 

_ “I know, but…” He paused for awhile, “The both of you will help us, right?” They were once again consumed by silence. _

 

_ “Of course!” Came the male’s deep voice, “Anything for the future generation to have a better future.” His voice trailed off, but she heard the determination in it. _

 

_ Another hummed in response, they continued to discuss things when Brynn was shaken by the loud explosion that was near them. She heard walls collapsing and screams, a fearsome roar caught her attention. _

 

_ “What’s this?! An Aragami?!” More screams were followed by that, crashing and stomping of whatever Aragami that was. Followed by a woman’s heinous laughter. _

 

“Vice Captain!” Her eyes flung open, revealing her wide eyes as she took in the azure sky. Her palms were sweating and she could feel her heart beating loudly on her chest. She was panting, she wasn’t tired by it was as if so much adrenaline had been pushed into her system. She began to realize where she was, she was lying against the tree, beside her was a certain Silver-haired girl who was looking at her with concern.

 

She had been trying to awaken the girl from her sleep. She was thrashing and constantly mumbling things that she couldn’t discern. Worry had been etched on her usually calm face. “Are you alright?” She asked, finally finding her voice.

 

Brynn looked away, was she okay? She wasn’t hurt anything. She was just confused. Extremely confused by the dream that she just had. Who were those people? And what plan were they talking about? Project Cesser? She knew what that word was, it was French. Roughly translating to Cease. 

 

Why did she feel like she had something to do about it?

 

She looked back at her companion and gave a slow nod, the crease between the younger one’s eyebrows was disappearing along with the sigh that accompanied it. She sat up, straightening herself against the tree. “Probably just tired.” Her stomach rumbled. “And hungry.” She added with a small blush on her face as she averted her gaze once again.

 

“Ah, Nana asked me to bring you this.” She turned back and saw the said girl’s favorite food, the Odenpan. Reaching for it appreciatively, she gave a quiet thanks and reminded herself to thank the Boost Hammer wielder when she would see her. She took slow bites, while her companion observed her. They were both now seating against the tree in complete silence.

 

The moment that she finished her food, she dismissed the dream that she had earlier and fixed her attention on her companion, “How are you feeling, Ciel? Do you want to talk about bullets?” She sincerely asked and chuckled the moment that girl nodded shyly. It was obviously the younger ones favorite topic.

 

It wasn’t the first time that they spoke about it, in fact, it was usually their conversation starter. It was the only time that Ciel would willingly speak with Brynn listening with sincere interest. She would pick up a thing or two and would apply it to her own bullets. She didn’t have much time to work on her own bullets as she was busy working on her melee skills. And missions that she was usually drowning in.

 

They began to chat about the said topic, Ciel suddenly stopped and gave a sheepish look to the older female, “I never got to ask you, Vice Captain, have you tried using the bullet editor?” All this time, she would constantly pester the older woman but not once did she ask if she actually knew how to use the bullet editor. She felt a bit ashamed regarding that but she waited for the other to respond.

 

“Actually, I have. I’m not that good at it however.” She added humbly, most of the bullets that she used were customized by her. But she never saw them as anything special or extremely powerful. Just enough to distract or catch an Aragami’s attention. Except for a couple of special bullets. Ciel nodded in response.

 

“Bullet crafting is an intense subject that tends to put off many God Eaters. I know that many say that it is above their pay grade,” Brynn chuckles at this, “Which I am almost certain is a joke.” 

 

Brynn could attest to that, one would need to know the basic components of a bullet, kind of bullets, functions, even the angle of the bullets. It would cause frustration when bullets clash and you’d have to check everything again. One would need to be extremely meticulous about this, and would need to have patience.

 

“At the same time, it is too exciting to ignore! We can change trajectory, elemental effects. It gives us greater options when attacking at range.” Brynn stopped her eyes from widening at the usually composed girl’s excitement. The way her silver eyes lit up, the small smile that found itself to her lips, the way she clasped her hands together in excitement, she couldn’t help but find herself staring.

 

Ciel took the stares the wrong way, she spoke fast and her pitch was higher than what it usually was, she turned to the side, her eyes dropping on her lap before she apologized, “I’m sorry… I got a bit excited.” She attempted to hide the faint blush that was finding its way to her cheeks. 

 

Her friend remained quiet, she was beginning to feel embarrassed, about to apologized again, she was beat to it, “Don’t apologize, you’re just so…” She braced herself for whatever words were about to come.

 

“Cute!” She found herself in the older woman’s warm embrace. “You should show this side more, Ciel.” The chagrin that she had from earlier had faded away, she found herself melting into the embrace. Feeling the older one’s soft skin and how she gently squeezed her. She began to realize how Brynn was the only person that would be so casual with hugging her. Not that she minded, it soothed her.

 

Ciel felt the warmth disappear when she let go, Ciel’s face seemed troubled urging her to ask, “Anything bothering you?” There was concern on her face, now she was worried that she may have made things awkward or her comrade uneasy.

 

“I was just wondering… If you aren’t busy, of course…” Ciel trailed off again, still unsure of how stay say it, “If you could accompany me during my next experiment. I made a bullet that you might like.” She waited with bated breath, hoping that the other would say yes. 

 

She created a bullet that was for her leader’s Blast Gun. She noticed how the other would rarely use her gun and figured that if she made that bullet, it might make range combat more enjoyable for her. 

 

“It would be a pleasure.” Brynn gave a slight bow, causing some of the barks of the tree to stick to her coat, she groaned upon noticing it. Ciel giggled at the other’s dismay. She wasn’t leaning against the tree, so her clothes wouldn’t be as dirty.

 

“Wonderful! Thank you so much, this will be great!” She excitedly said, a bright smile appeared on her face, she quickly rose from where she was sitting, “I’d like to perform the test as soon as possible for optimal effect. Would you be ready by tomorrow?” She asked, taking into thought how Brynn just got out of the Brynn and probably needed some time to get used to everything.

 

“What about right now?” Her response took her by surprise. “I mean, only if you’re ready.” She added. She originally was supposed to eat, but since the odenpan had filled her up. She was free to do anything, she wanted to let out some steam anyways. Sitting around wouldn’t do her any good.

 

“Are you sure? You might need to rest?” Ciel had a worried look on her face, although she yearned to be able to test those bullets at once.

 

As a response, Brynn stood up, she knew that if she stayed that dream would keep bugging her and distracting her, “Yeah, give me some time to restock. I’ll meet you at the lobby, do set the mission with Fran.” Ciel frantically nodded before rushing towards the elevator. Brynn chuckled and followed, they needed to head towards the same floor anyways.

 

* * *

  
  


Brynn stood in front of the terminal, suddenly recalling a certain doctor’s words. She took note of the new option that she had in the menu which was labeled, ‘craft’. Out of curiosity, she clicked on it and was met with multiple categories; melee, guns, shields. She hummed and decided to give it a go since her companion wasn’t ready yet.

 

She opened the Melee category and was met with multiple weapons with different names. Her eyes widened in surprise upon seeing unfamiliar weapons that she could craft. After a few minutes of pondering, she went with a Wild Sword: Yang. Upon confirming, there was a pop up box that said, ‘It will be completed in two days.’ 

 

She wasn’t quite sure how that would work, where would Auricle go? She’ll probably ask the doctor that requested her to try crafting. Just as she was about logout, the electronic letter popped up at the upper right corner.

 

She grew pale upon seeing who it was from.

 

**From: Nessa Volere**

**Subject: Crafting Equipment**

**Message: Doing great, Eos! So you’re finally deciding to listen to me. Hehe. I mean, after that dream you had earlier, I’m certain that you won’t be able to resist. Am I right? Of course I am! Anyways, here’s the thing. I’m sure that you’re probably wondering what’s going to happen with your precious Scythe the moment that you change into that mini Chi-You wing. Basically, you have a special storage that has been designed by your favorite doctor. It will be sent there and maintained there for the meantime that it is inactive. Don’t worry about it getting damaged, defective or anything. Just enjoy using your new weapon!**

 

**Anyways, that’s it. You’re getting close to knowing everything. Did you have fun with Hyperion and Theia? Well, that’s it for today. Until we meet again!**

 

 

  * ****Your favorite, Nessa****



 

 

‘What the fuck?’ Creeped out was an understatement, she couldn’t even think and dream in privacy now. She couldn’t believe how messed up everything currently was. Shaking her head, she logged out and began to make her way towards the storage area.

 

She needed to let release some steam. A lot of steam.

 

* * *

 

“DAMN YOU!” An angered scream erupted from her the moment that the Gboro-Gboro released a condensed ball of water at her. It narrowly missed her, she dodged just in time. She heard the water exploding behind her.

 

She ran, her scythe hanging by her side. She was charging for a cleave fang, her legs were running towards the beast at pace that was faster than a regular human. With her teeth clenched together, she swung the scythe, a trail of black and red following in it.

 

“I’ll tear right through you!” She swung multiple times, managing to break through the amphibian’s scales. She raised it above and brought it down quickly, twisting a bit to earn a bit of momentum, she dug her heels into the floor and pulled the blade backward. Earning a screech of pain from the Gboro-Gboro.

 

Brynn’s eyes widened in response as the Aragami rammed at her, knocking her to the side. It was about to chomp down on her, its large teeth threatening her as she stared into its black hole of a mouth. She scrambled to get up, to move to the side to avoid the attack. There was something heavy on her leg, she cursed loudly when she saw that a rock had landed on top of it.

 

She was trapped.

Bracing herself for the impact, she clenched her eyes and thought about how ridiculous was the way she was going to go. Instead of the aragami biting down on her, she saw it flail wildly as multiple bullets rammed into it.

 

After a couple of seconds, it gave one last roar before dropping to the ground dead. Behind it, she saw Ciel with her God Arc in its gun form. She rushed towards her with a look of concern on her face.

 

“Vice Captain, can you stand?” She asked, kneeling down in order to examine her comrade. She gasped upon seeing the rock that had trapped one of her legs. She moved over to it and pushed it away. 

 

Brynn nearly panicked, believing that she had been stolen of the ability to stand. The moment that she tried, she nearly fell but was supported by the younger girl. With the help of Ciel, she got back on her feet, albeit a bit wobbly. 

 

“I apologize for arriving so late.” The two had decided to split up in order to cover more ground. Brynn shook her head and scolded the girl, “Don’t apologize, it was my fault for being careless. You arrived in the nick of time.” She gave a gentle smile. 

 

Upon requesting for a ride back home, the two of them decided to stay by one of the safe places in order for Ciel to check on her bullets. The younger one had been looking at them for quite some time now and it was worrying her.

 

“Are you alright?” Brynn asked, crouching down to Ciel’s level. She noticed the different bullets that the other had in her hands. She assumed that the other was probably feeling unwell.

 

“I’m fine… It’s just that the bullets, they seemed strange, but they weren’t?” She vacillated, giving Brynn a glance before looking back towards her God Arc. “I can’t quite describe it, it was unusual, but in a good way, I suppose.”

 

Brynn took a closer look, there was nothing different about the bullets. They seemed pretty normal. “I honestly can’t see anything wrong about them, but knowing you, you’ll figure it out sooner or later.” She gave a supportive smile and placed a hand over the other’s shoulder. “We could go out on another mission to test them out.” She offered, earning a smile from the other.

 

“Alright, thank you for coming out to help today. I really appreciate it.” The two of them both stood up, getting ready to head back to Friar.

 

* * *

 

Brynn recalled the email that had been sent to her earlier, the strange names that accompanied it, as well as the project that had been mentioned in her dream. She found herself, lying down on her stomach, in a certain black haired man’s bed.

 

“And you’re here because?” Gil asked as he sat on one of the couches, a can of beer in his hand while he shot the girl a questioning look. He figured that she had forgotten that he still wasn’t down scolding her yet.

 

Brynn continued to type on the laptop that belonged to the male. She hummed before responding, “Because you have a laptop and I’m stuck with the terminal. I want to lie down while making reports, dummy.” She insulted him which earned her a grunt. The other continued to sip on his beer can while casually observing the girl.

 

She was clad in clothes that were once again different, she had the habit of crafting clothes that differed in style. It wasn’t that they didn’t do that as well, they all changed into different outfits each day, however they did have favorites. Brynn was a different case.

 

She had something new to wear everyday.

 

“Maybe if you saved up for a laptop instead of buying clothes, you wouldn’t need to sneak in here.” This earned him a glare from the other, he was unaffected by it however.

 

“HEY! That’s why I have you and Julius, so that I can spend my money on clothes instead.” She grunted and turned back to her report, “Plus, I’m certain that you want me here anyways.” She snickered upon hearing the other cough. Probably choking on his beer.

 

“If saying that helps you sleep better at night.” He rolled his eyes upon recovering from what the other said. He didn’t mind Brynn’s company but the way that she said it, he took it the wrong way. He brought down his cap to hide the faint blush that was creeping on to his face. Fortunately, the other was busy typing away on his laptop.

 

The two stayed in silence, only the laptop’s keys could be heard. Gil stood and reached for something that was hidden by the side of his terminal. Brynn looked up upon noticing the movement that she made and she gasped in excitement.

 

The guitar was a Gibson Les Paul, crafted with heavy wood that felt just right in Gil’s hands, tones were rich and full.

 

“You can play?” She asked, completely ignoring the laptop that she once was busy with. Gil mumbled a reply.

 

“Only a few songs.” Instruments were rare nowadays, he was lucky that he managed to get his hands on one. A guitar that once belonged to his father who had passed away not too long ago. He settled back on where he was previously sitting, he noticed the curious stares that his younger teammate gave him.

 

“What?”

 

“Play something.” Brynn demanded, he sighed. Thinking of a song to play. When he said a few, he meant more than 50. He didn’t seem like it, but he was someone that was fond of music, he would often play songs whenever he was alone. Unfortunately, his Vice Captain had barged into his room to steal his laptop.

 

A smirk found its way on his face as he began to pluck the nylon strings. The sweet refrain spoke a musical language that appealed to the two in the room, the strumming and plucking sound had hypnotic quality that brought Brynn into a state of pure bliss. She gasped upon realizing the song.

 

_ “I met you in the dark, you lit me up. _

_ You made me feel as though I was enough. _

_ We danced the night away, we drank too much. _

_ I held your hair back when, you were throwing up.”  _

 

She began to sing the first few lines, her eyes closed as she found herself drowning in the guitar’s melody. 

 

_ “Then you smiled over your shoulder, for a minute, I was stone-cold sober. _

_ I pulled you closer to my chest. _

_ And you asked me to stay over. _

_ I said, I already told ya, _

_ I think that you should get some rest.” _

 

Gil half focused on the guitar as he was at awe with the girl’s voice. It wasn’t those voices that were loud and overbearing. It was smooth, clear and quiet, yet powerful. The song that he chose had clearly matched the kind of voice that she had.

 

_ “I knew I loved you then, _

_ But you’d never know. _

_ Cause I played it cool when I was scared of letting go. _

_ I know I needed you, but I never showed. _

_ But I wanna stay with you until we’re grey and old. _

_ Just say you won’t let go. _

_ Just say you won’t let go.” _

 

The two of them continued until the end of the song, Brynn couldn’t help but sigh in relief. It’s been quite awhile since she felt the kind of peace that music had brought her. That song was something new to her as she heard it in the Norn. It didn’t take her long to memorize the lyrics of the song as she constantly listened to it.

 

“You play well.” She complimented with a grin, going back to finish her report which was half finished.

 

“You sing well.” Gil replied, he continued to play and even sing  a few more songs with Brynn humming along to it. She needed to finish the rest of the reports before she could allow herself to get carried away.

 

“You know,” Brynn began after pressing save on the last report, she sent it to Julius. “You could be an artist or something, instead of being a God Eater.” She chuckled a bit, not noticing the sad look that appeared on the others face. He began to think of how if that happened, he wouldn’t have been forced to kill her.

 

Gil quickly removed that look on his face, dismissing the thought and gave a gentle and rare smile. His deep voice resonating throughout the room the same way his guitar did, “Maybe.” He stood up and placed it back on its stand, Brynn began to question how she had not noticed it earlier.

Brynn stood up and slumped against the couch that the male was sitting on, she grabbed the half empty beer can that was on the table and took a swing. Gil stared at her with disbelief the moment that he sat down. “You really have no boundaries.” She shrugged her shoulders before shooting him a cocky smile.

 

“Scared of my saliva?” She teased him, earning herself an eyeroll. 

 

She nearly fainted at what the other had said, “I wouldn’t be scared even if it came straight from your lips.” She nearly lost her composure upon hearing that, the other taking the opportunity to steal his beer back. 

 

“I was just kidding, Vice Captain.” He called her by her title, bringing the beer can to his lips as he noticed her faint scent had lingered on it. He couldn’t help but smirk as she saw her jaw drop with his side glance. “Aren’t you the one who’s scared?” He mocked her which caused her face to burn even brighter. She cursed and stood up, stomping towards the door.

 

“I hate you!” She walked out and slammed the door. Gil let out a series of chuckles after processing the girl’s reaction.

 

That certainly wasn’t the reaction that he was expecting from the girl. So it was pretty easy to get on her nerves after all.

 

**Extended Ending:**

 

Julius was walking back towards his room when he heard the strumming of a guitar and a girl’s voice coming from Gil’s room. It had piqued his interest, so he slowly made his way towards the room and with enhanced hearing, listened.

 

It was Brynn. What was she doing in  _ his  _ room. He couldn’t help but clench his teeth and grit it in annoyance. He continued to listen in a bit, taking in bits of their conversation.

 

Despite how cold he acted towards the girl previously, he couldn’t deny that he was growing somewhat attached. She was a fun and interesting personality, the fact that she was in another’s room had brought him great annoyance.

 

Especially since it was Gil, someone who he considered to be too close to the girl. Of course, he kept quiet about that. He wouldn’t dare tell anyone about that. He prioritized being professional over silly and trivial feelings.

 

“Scared of my saliva?” His eyes widened upon hearing what the girl had said. What were they doing?

“I wouldn’t be scared even if it came straight from your lips.” He felt his blood boil, he was this close to barging inside the room, completely ignoring the last few exchange of lines. The door had slammed open, he was met with a fuming Vice Captain.

 

“A-Ah! Captain, you didn’t hear anything, right?” He noticed how flustered the girl was, he shook his head in denial, a bit to quickly if he must say. 

 

“I was just heading back to the room.” He felt a blush creep its way to his face. “G-Goodnight, Vice Captain.” He turned and began to walk away. He mentally cursed himself for stuttering.

 

“Uhm! Just saying that it’s probably not what you thought it was.” He heard the girl shout as he slid inside the room, he sighed in relief. 

 

He certainly needed to do something about what he was feeling. He couldn’t be jealous, right? He was just concerned about the Vice Captain.

 

**A/N - I don’t own GE2RB or the song ‘Say You Won’t Let Go’. Anyways, I can’t be the only one who badly ships the protagonist with Julius, right? I mean, he did refer to her/him as “My Vice Captain”, *spoiler alert* technically hold hands during the time he was going to battle the devouring apocalypse, and he was saved by the protagonist. Fdklfj. I’m sorry, I just think that they’re a perfect pair.**

  
  
  



	13. Dodici

It had been a few days since that incident between Gil and Brynn happened. The two, along with the other members of Blood (with the exception of the captain) were currently lounging around Friar’s lobby. The Vice Captain had just came from the upper lobby, after casually chatting with Fran.

 

“I’m telling you, there’s more to her than just being an idol. I mean, c’mon.” Romeo rapidly waved his arms in the air as if trying to intensify his reasoning out. He stopped midway upon noticing the arrival of the Vice Captain, “Yo, Brynn!” He was the only one that called her by her first name, instead of Vice Captain.

 

Not that she cared, she actually prefered that. She gave him a warm smile before stopping in her tracks the moment that the speakers had began echoing words. 

 

“ **Attention, all aboard Friar. We are currently moving through a red rainstorm. Access to the exterior has been temporarily restricted.”** The line was repeated a few more times before it died down.

 

Nana was the first to react, “Message received, ma’am! Good boys and girls don’t go out in the rain.” She joked with a small smile on her face following. Brynn couldn’t help but find the flaw in the words.

 

Brynn definitely wasn’t a good girl, in fact, she was a troublemaker. She was tempted to do things that she knew she wasn’t supposed to do. Like barge into random member’s rooms and steal food or use their stuff.

 

She, however, definitely wasn’t going to do that with a certain brown haired man. She gulped at the thought while giving a side glance towards the man.

 

“It certainly won’t let up.” He remarked, currently leaning against the electronic merchant where they would buy their materials. Ciel turned towards him, causing her to brush against the Vice Captain who had sat beside her.

 

“It’s been this way ever since we entered the Far East. At least we should arrive at the branch soon.” 

 

Wait, they were going to the Far East? Why wasn’t she informed of this? Everyone began to notice the confused look on Brynn’s face. 

 

“Vice Captain, don’t tell me that you don’t know?” Came Nana’s surprised voice. Great, even Nana knew. She shook her head no. 

 

Ciel was next to respond, “It was on the note that was left on our desks.” Brynn began to think deeply of a note. Her eyes lit up.

 

“Ah! The one that I threw away!” She voiced out, earning a sigh from Gil and laughter from Romeo and Nana. Even Ciel couldn’t help but crack a smile. “What? I thought that it was trash.” She added, clearly not caring about what the others were thinking of. 

 

“The Red Rain…” Romeo began, drawing all the attention to him, “That stuff was the stuff that came down before, right? While we were rescuing Ciel. I mean, is the Red Rain really as bad as all that?” Brynn cringed at the memory. She remained silent and waited for the youngest to answer. She knew quite little about the Red Rain before she actually encountered it. After reading about it on NORN, she began to understand how dangerous it actually was.

 

Before Ciel could answer, Nana affirmed with a hum, “Mmhm! It gives people a disease called…” She paused, bringing a hand near her face as she stared up at the ceiling, trying to remember the word, “It’s called… What’s it called again?” She gave up after being unable to remember the name.

 

“The Black Plague.” Both Ciel and Brynn came to the poorly dressed girl’s aid. Brynn looked at Ciel for her to continue the explanation, “It shares its name with an ancient epidemic. Earned by the black scars that form. Any contact with the rain could cause it.” Everyone listened to her explanation.

 

“There’s no known treatment, even symptoms can’t be suppressed, anyone who contacts it, is destined to die.” Brynn continued, remembering what she had read on the Norn database. After those words, she saw the male swallow the lump that had formed in his throat.

 

“So, I just have to stay dry, right?” He confirmed with a look of fear on his face. Brynn gave a low chuckle.

 

“Getting sick is the worst! You lose all your appetite.” Nana piped in, obviously dreaming about food. Something that probably occupied her mind 24/7. 

 

The five continued to idly chat, when the speaker began to sprout out words again,  **“Friar has cleared the Red Rain and is continuing south through Far East territory. Repeat, Friar has cleared the Red Rain and is continuing south through Far East territory.”**

 

“Oh! We’ve almost arrived.” Brynn remarked before standing up. She stretched, “I have to finish some things. See you all later.” She walked towards the elevator that led to the housing units.

 

She was somewhat relieved, about multiple things. First, she wasn’t having any strange dreams lately or any appearances from the strange brunette. The other was that there wasn’t much tension from her team and her. Even the incident that happened a few days ago was nearly forgotten.

 

She refused to remember it. 

 

Even the Captain was going back to what he was before, still professional as ever, but better than awkward or tense. He would return to call her to go on missions and paperwork.

 

_ “Vice Captain?” Her Captain called her, urging her to look away from the orange hues that the sun descending gave the ocean waters. She tilted her head to the side waiting for him to continue. _

 

_ “What is it, Captain?” She asked, watching as the male approach her. He just finished extracting the Chi-You’s core. Their companions were most likely done with the Konguo on the other side of the carrier. The growls and roars had died down a few minutes ago. _

 

_ She couldn’t help but notice the hesitant look on her leader’s face. He was standing beside her now, looking at the same sight that she had been greatly admiring earlier. _

 

_ “What happened between you and Gil the other night?” She nearly choked on air upon hearing what the male said. Her eyes widened as she looked at him with an incredulous look. How could he still remember  _ **_that_ ** _? _

 

_ She cleared her throat before turning back to the setting sun, she couldn’t help but sigh ast how peaceful things were looking. Despite them living in this antiutopia world, there was still a tinge of peace, tranquility and beauty if one would look hard enough. _

 

_ “Nothing.” She answered, her voice firm and an amused smile tugging on her lips. “I was teasing him then he teased back.” She couldn’t help but think, how at that moment, what occured the other day seemed funny. Perhaps, it was only due to the fact that her Captain was asking. He wasn’t one to pry after all. _

 

_ “I see.” Satisfied with the answer, he didn’t press anything anymore. They remained in the silence for a few meager seconds, when Brynn broke the silence. _

 

_ “Why so curious, Captain?” She held back her snicker, pretending to remain serious however anticipating whatever reaction the captain may have.  _

 

_ Julius gave a short answer, “I was just making sure that everything is in order. That there isn’t any animosity between the members.” She was disappointed with his answer, so she merely hummed in response before turning her attention to the view. _

 

_ Her Captain was astonishing. Quite erratic, actually. Whenever she would tease him, he would either be extremely flustered or would be nonchalant about it. She made a hunch that he was just getting used to her playful antics.  _

 

_ She would need to work harder on them. Even Gil was catching up. _

 

_ “Captain, we’re here!” They both spun around slowly and was met with Ciel and Nana. Nana had a wide grin on her face, her trademark Odenpan in one hand and Boost Hammer in the other. Ciel had her usual poker face on as they approached. _

 

_ Julius nodded in acknowledgement, activating his comm. “Requesting for pick up, both targets have been eradicated and all Blood Members have regrouped.” _

 

**_“Pick up is on the way. ETA, 15 minutes.”_ **

 

She arrived in her room which seemed to have less items than it had before. Their items have been packed and will be brought to their respective rooms when they arrive in the Far East. Curiosity arose to her, was the Far East branch similar to Friar? Or was Emil not exaggerating when he said that Friar was truly a work of art. 

 

She walked over to her terminal, deciding that she would use the time to browse through Norn. A random thought crossed her mind.

“Eos?” That was the name that the brunette had called her. She admit, that she was feeling curious, there was another name that she mentioned and two other names in the email that she sent. She decided to see if the database had anything regarding the name.

 

She typed in the name, and to her luck, an archive appeared that was titled Greek Mythology. One of its subtopics was the name Eos. Waiting for it to load, she couldn’t help but feel even more curious than she was before.

 

**EOS**

 

  * ****Rosy-fingered Goddess of the Dawn.****


  * **Numbered amongst the second-generation Titan Gods.**


  * **Parents were Hyperion and Theia.**



 

 

‘Weren’t those the name in the email? Could this mean that? Not, that would be ridiculous.’

 

 

  * ****Had an insatiable desire for handsome young men.****



 

 

‘What the fuck?’ She couldn’t help but reread the line a couple more times before proceeding. ‘Thirsty hoe.’

 

 

  * ****Brings up the light of day from the east.****


  * **A symbol of a new beginning.**



 

 

Unable to find any connection between her and the Goddess, she decided to move on to the next name. If she could recall correctly, it was Aion. A suggestion on the database had proved her to be correct.

 

**AION**

 

  * ****The Primordial God of Time.****


  * **Associated with eternity and everlasting tiem.**


  * **Was associated with the zodiac and constellations.**



 

 

She didn’t know anyone who was like this at all. But the strange girl did say that she almost slipped. Was she close to revealing someone that she had known in the past? Or maybe someone that she knew now. 

 

She chuckled lowly the moment that she realized how the mysterious girl was spinning her head around. Realizing that she may have just decided to mess with her or something along those lines. The research that she did, she didn’t consider it as wasted time, she knew a bit of Greek Mythology, she came across it a few times in the Norn database. Adding a bit more to what she knew wouldn’t hurt. After all, it was interesting how Aragami actually took the form of the Gods that humans once worshipped before. Like how the Kongou’s name was derived from something that related to Hindu mythology. The Sariel deusphage, Zeus, was also related to Greek Mythology.

 

A knock on her door had released her from her reverie. She turned to it in curiosity after logging out of the terminal. “Come in.” She gently, yet loudly enough, announced. The opened with a soft creaking sound. 

 

“Sorry to disturb you, Vice Captain.” It was Julius, he made his way inside the room, closing the door. Brynn stepped away from her terminal and walked over to the male, with a small smile on her face. 

 

“You aren’t disturbing me, Julius.” She dared to call him by his first name. “Why don’t you sit? I’ll make you some coffee.” She offered and didn’t miss the small crinkle in his eyes. The older one gave in and took a seat on one of the couches that she had in her room.

 

Her room was nothing like his. It was nearly half the size. In fact, she had the smallest room among them all. It didn’t bother her much, she didn’t have a lot of things to begin with, besides the clothes that she had been crafting recently, the books that she had been collecting from the abandoned city.

 

Her twin-sized bed was fitted with orange, red and white bedsheets, with two pillows that were placed on top of one another. Her, being quite a restless sleeper, had fallen off a couple times. Her teammates would question the fact why she had a few random bruises here and there. Of course, her excuse would be that she got them from battling Aragami. It was convincing enough for them.

 

Beside it was a small, oak nightstand that had a square lampshade settled on top of it. Along with an alarm clock, that had a few cracks on the glass. She also had a desk which was usually filled with papers that the Captain would pass on to her. Above it were shelves that contained the few books that she had. 

 

Although she did not have a kitchen, she had a fridge and a coffee maker which was often in use. She made her way over to the said coffee maker and began to prepare the drink that was to be served to her guest. The smell of coffee began to fill the room within a couple of minutes.

 

The Captain stared at the petite figure that was facing in the opposite direction, obviously focused on the task that she was currently working on. She was clad in Blood’s uniform. They all were ordered to change into it, just for when they arrive at the Far East Branch as they would be meeting with the director.

 

Her ash blonde hair had been tied in a messy bun, instead of the usual waves that it was in. With her back turned, he could only see the second layer that served as some sort of a jacket over the tight fitting aquamarine top. Instead of the pants that was provided for the males, a pair of thigh length stockings/boots that revealed a bit of skin.

 

“Three teaspoons of sugar, right?” The voiced had roused him from his thoughts, he nodded. Eyes slightly widening the moment that he realized that she had looked back at him. She didn’t notice him staring right?

 

“Yes. You know me quite well, Vice Captain.” He gave a small smile before averting his eyes. He stared at the collection of books that she had, standing up and making his way over to it.

 

“You know, I didn’t peg you as someone who was fond of sweet things.” He picked a book from the shelf, it was one about animals and plants. 

 

He flipped through the pages before answering, “Why is that?” 

 

He heard the metal spoon that she was stirring clink against the porcelain cup where she made the coffee. Realizing that she was done, he stuffed the book back from where he got it. Turning on his heel and making his way back to where he was previously seated. Brynn sat in front of him and placed the cup down. He graciously took it into his hands and sipped.

 

“Well, you didn’t seem like someone who was into sweets.” She honestly answered, recalling the time that she questioned if he would possibly like the dessert that she made. “I guess that I made the right choice of making you that Semifreddo back then.” She beamed at the memory. Julius softly chuckled.

 

“Ah, yes. Do make some again when you find the time.” He urged her, placing the cup back down on the small plate that it came with. She nodded in response, flashing a grin.

 

“Sure, when we aren’t flooded with paperwork and missions.” This caused the other to sigh in agreement. Ever since they began to make their way towards the Far East, their workload had doubled. This day was the only day that they didn’t have a mission. Blood was somehow relieved.

 

“It has been quite taxing the past few days.” He added, she hummed in response. “I find it ironic, that for someone who’s quite good at making desserts, you aren’t quite fond of sweets.” This elicited a chuckle from the girl, her shoulders slightly relaxing against the backrest. 

 

“So you noticed.” She remarked. The small smile never fading from her lips.

 

Julius reciprocated the smile, “It isn’t quite hard, especially since you would willingly forfeit your dessert rations to me.” 

 

“It’s because you’d tease me about gaining weight.” She feigned a hurt expression which managed to convince the male.

 

“I apologize, did it really cause you that much distress when I said that?” He remembered the time that he had to carry her. It was a few weeks back. One of the first few missions that he had with her. 

 

Brynn threw back her head in laughter, further confusing her companion. “It was a joke, Captain. Don’t worry about it.” This somehow lifted the weight on his shoulders. He couldn’t bear the thought of causing emotional distress to his colleagues. 

 

He surely would have to make up for it.

 

“I think that I’m just picky.” She confessed. Earning a quizzical look from the male. “I blame the Norn, I may have been reading through different ‘food reviews’ that they had before. I saw a couple of desserts that I think don’t exist anymore.” She said with longing on her face. “Like, they have this thing called ‘Ice Cream’, it’s supposingly a frozen dessert but not like the cake that I made.” 

 

He couldn’t help but notice how animated she was, “Then there are these things called dango? They look like round balls that come in green, white and pink.” She continued to ramble on about the different food that she would see in the database. 

 

“Perhaps, if we have the time, we could explore the ghetto and small city located in the Far East.” Her face lit up like a child receiving a present on Christmas. 

 

“That would be nice.” She concurred. Before she could continue their discussion, her phone vibrated. She opened it and sighed in disappointment. 

 

“Looks like we’ll have to continue this conversation some other time, Captain. Dr. Rachel is calling for me.” She stood up, dusting off the invisible dust on her clothes. “Take your time to finish the coffee. I’ll clean it up when I get back.”

 

With that being said, she made her way out of the room. Leaving the Captain to his own thoughts.

  
  


Friar came to a stop, in front of a large wall that had been constructed by Fenrir itself. A wall that was nearly the size of the mobile fortress. Blood had made their way towards the gate, greeted by different guards that willingly let them in. 

 

The moment that they were inside, a commotion had begun outside the walls. 

 

“What do you mean you won’t let us in?!” Came an angry shout from an adult man. Brynn had stopped in her tracks to watch what was going on. There stood a family, the parents, a child, and a baby. They all had looks of agony on their faces.

 

“I’m sorry, sir.” The guard muttered an insincere apology. As if he had repeated the lines a few times. “You’ll have to head towards the other satellite bases. It’s a few miles from here.” He pointed towards the area which was north east from the gate. Brynn couldn’t help but cock her head in wonder. “The shuttle will be picking up people in a few minutes.”

 

“Just because none of us can be God Eaters? Isn’t that unfair? I’m sure that the condition of the place there isn’t as good as here.” The woman complained, now Brynn couldn’t tell who was right or wrong. 

 

She continued to watch things unfold, when a medium sized van arrived. Coming out from it, was the silver-haired woman that she had met before. She managed to quell the argument and had the family ride inside the van. They began to make their way towards the direction that the guard had pointed at earlier.

 

“Hey, it’s you again.” Brynn perked up the moment that the other girl had become aware of her. She sauntered towards her, silver locks gently blowing in the breeze that somehow made its way inside the armored walls. Brynn gave a nod.

 

“Hello, Ms. Alisa?” She scrunched her eyebrow a bit in an attempt to remember the name. The shorter woman gave a smile of appreciation, at the fact that the girl had remembered her.

 

“Alisa is fine, are you lost?” She couldn’t help but ask, the girl was alone after all. Brynn turned, her eyes widened when her teammates were no longer in sight.

 

She sighed before turning back to the Russian, “Looks like my unit went ahead.” She mumbled something inaudible. “I must look like a lost puppy or something.” This earned her a giggle from the silvette.

 

“Well then, why don’t we walk together? I am heading back to the den to make a report anyways.” Brynn flashed an appreciative grin at the offer. The two began to walk at a quick pace towards the largest building, ironically, the blonde had only noticed now.

 

They walked passed multiple houses and stalls. Children ran around, laughing freely with delight on their faces. Women and men casually spoke with each other, as if none of them had a problem in a world. She sighed, her sigh had not gone unnoticed by her companion.

 

“I know what you’re thinking.” She began, observing the people around her as well, but with a cheerful look on her face. “That it must be nice to be  _ normal _ .” Brynn nodded in agreement, it was still dangerous to be in the ghetto, but having to face death everyday. It wasn’t something that one could get used to.

 

“Our line of work is quite taxing.” The silvette continued as they hiked their way towards the den. “But, I wouldn’t give up my job for anything else.” Brynn faced the other, with a look of surprise on her face. She didn’t expect to hear that from the woman. But there was a glint of determination on the other’s face.

 

“We may be putting ourselves in danger, but somehow, we’re going to find a way to tip the battle towards our favor. It may seem impossible now, but we’ll find a way somehow.” She continued, as if she knew something. Brynn didn’t press her on and merely listened. “If we weren’t doing our job, then we wouldn’t have discovered ways to up our defenses and resources, don’t you think? Somehow, someday, all our efforts won’t be in vain.”

 

Hope. That’s what she saw in the other girl. Not once had she considered these things. Being in Friar for so long, it limited the contact that she had with other people. With civilians. With people that needed to be protected. She had nearly forgotten that was the purpose of her occupation.

 

To protect, to protect the people from the gods that had turned their backs on them.

 

“You’re quite hopeful.” She commented, a smile was on her face, “I like that.” She had nothing else to say, the girl had managed to find her way into her heart with the tender words that she told her. This resulted with a small sigh. A sigh that showed that someone was reminiscing. 

 

Brynn didn’t miss the forlorn look that the other was trying to mask. The facade that she was putting on wasn’t enough to deceive her. 

 

“It was just something that an old friend would always tell me.” 

 

**A/N - See the connections that I made with Aion? A certain someone’s name means Nectar of Immortality in Sanskrit. Thus relating to Aion who is the God of Time, mostly in terms of eternity. Uhm, not quite sure if you guys get the reference. Since technically, when you are an immortal, you live forever right? Which is like being an immortal. Also the Zodiac signs, which are stars, which are near the moon. Fjdk. Hope that you all enjoyed this chappie! Oh, I know that I sucked with describing the blood outfit. I mean, are those boots of stockings? Fjdkl.**

 


	14. Tredici

Brynn trailed behind the silvette as they navigated the den’s hallways.  It had vintage and antediluvian feel to it,  unlike the mobile fortress that she had grown accustomed to. The heels of their boots thumped against the carpeted floors, it was the only thing that could be heard as the duo proceeded in silence.

 

The moment that she stepped into the Den, she had already found herself comfortable. The lobby was lively and bright, with its brownish hues and the presence of more people. People that would give smiles whenever she would pass by. God Eaters, mechanics, and just normal people. 

 

It was bustling with energy, with life. A refreshing sight after seeing the modern, sleek, yet dreary furnishing that her previous home had. Well, if she could call that place home. The Den was warmer and wasn’t as dull. It was worthy of being called a home.

 

She nearly forgot that she was an instrument in a war that had no end in sight. Nearly.

 

“We’re here.” She had been roused from her thoughts the moment that they came to a stop. It was the end of the long hallway, a big wooden door was what she came face to face with. Its lower part was slightly hidden by the other girl’s smaller frame. 

 

Alisa knocked on the door thrice before slowly opening it. All eyes turned to her before they noticed Brynn who had been sheepishly looking from behind the Russian. They let themselves in, the door closing with a soft thud.

 

Julius gave a curt nod and a small smile curled on his lips, “Ah, Vice Captain, we presumed that you wanted to explore the ghetto a little bit. We knew that you would find your way here anyways.” She stopped herself from rolling her eyes, they just forgot about her. She would definitely bite his ear off later.

 

Not in that way.

 

“You weren’t with us?” Romeo scratched the back of his head. “I didn’t notice.” Nana hummed in agreement.

 

She didn’t know whether to feel hurt or murderous. She gave the male a sweet smile, by sweet she meant a ‘I’m-going-to-feed-you-to-a-Vajra’ kind of smile. The young Italian shrinked at the sight of it. 

 

“Alisa,” The man seated behind the desk had caught her attention, the Silvette beside her stood straighter, “I thank you for bringing our guest. I assume that you have completed the reports?” Alisa nodded.

 

“Yes, Do- Director.” She corrected herself.

 

“I’ll look into them later.” He affirmed, his fox-like features had become more evident to Brynn as a smile appeared on his face, his already small eyes decreasing more in size. He had unruly grey hair, pale skin, and was clad in brown garments that resembled robes or what she read as a ‘kimono’*. In comparison to the clothes that the people had on earlier, it made him stand out.

 

A pair of glasses were perched on his nose and another 3 pairs hung loosely around his neck by the metallic chains that they were attached to.

 

Certainly was an interesting character.

 

Turning back to the Captain he began, “I would like to first thank you all for coming on such short notice. I am Paylor Sakaki, the director of the Far East Branch.” He gave a small nod, the smile that he had never fading away, “I have heard great things about your unit.” He looked towards each one of them, Brynn couldn’t help but notice that his eyes seemed to linger on her a bit longer.

 

Julius took the opportunity to introduce himself, “I am Julius Visconti, Captain of the Blood Special Forces.” He reciprocated the curt nod. 

 

“When I heard that Emil rescued you from certain doom, I just had to meet you face to face.” They gave him a stupefied look. Besides Brynn who had a blank look on her face, same went for Julius and Ciel. 

 

Nana was the first to break the silence that had crawled its way into the room, “Eh? But it was our Vice Captain that faced the Psion.” The Far East Director turned to face the latecomer. Brynn didn’t miss the mischievous look that played on his face. Her blood ran cold.

 

Something wasn’t quite right.

 

“Ah so it was you after all? I thought as much. You have my thanks!” The look had disappeared as he thanked her. Brynn didn’t move an inch, she continued to listen.

 

He then cleared his throat, as if a signal that things were just about to get serious. “You’re obviously a talented group.” He added in a compliment, “I don’t want to waste a moment of that talent. Let’s get you on a mission.”

 

The ashen blonde girl suppressed the groan of annoyance that was threatening to release itself. She knew that they weren’t on vacation, but couldn’t they have even a small incy tiny break? They literally just stepped foot into the branch and now they had to go on a mission?

 

She knew that complaining wouldn’t do anything, her peripheral vision had caught the questioning look that her Captain was giving her. He must have noticed the look of distress that was on her face.

 

He saw right through her, the way that she tapped her fingers against her leg’s pale skin, the way her lips were pursed together to indicate her defiance, how her eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly. Within the few months that they had known each other, he was beginning to pick up the small body signals that she would send. He knew that she was upset over the fact that they were immediately being tossed out for a mission. But he also knew that she was too stubborn to back down from a task, especially one that dealt with Aragami.

 

She was too headstrong and determined. Thus resulting with her often rushing into battle, thankfully, there hasn’t been much casualties asides from her forgetting about her condition.

 

The director continued to explain what the branch was currently facing, a Psion Epidemic. They had been gathering around the front lines and they required assistance from his unit. 

 

The briefing was nearly coming to an end when the door loudly opened, they all turned towards the orange male that was clad in a white coat. One similar to the Russian in the room. He wore orange colored pants that had a long black stripe and by its cuffs were vertical zippers. Underneath the sleeveless coat was a pale yellow top. His orange hair had been adorned with a yellow bandana which failed to keep his bangs from brushing against his face.

 

“Yo, Doc! I have the line up- woah!” He looked around excitedly, a wide grin revealing his pearly white teeth and a look of awe was evident on his face. “Is this the Blood Unit?” He questioned, earning a disapproving sigh from the Silvette that stood a few feet from him.

 

“Thank you, Kota. And yes, this is Blood.” It was as if the words fueled the male’s excitement even more. 

 

He raised the clipboard that he was holding with one hand, “Great to meet you! I’m Kota Fujiki, Captain of the Far East Branch’s 1st Unit.” He introduced himself, the smile on his face and look of mirth in his eyes never fading away. 

 

Brynn couldn’t believe that someone as lively as him was a Captain. She had grown used to the well tempered Julius who seemed to be the total opposite of the young male that was in front of them. The two of them were interacting with each other now. She couldn’t help but chuckle silently at the fact that the Far East was the polar opposite of Friar.

 

“Awesome!” He exclaimed after Julius finished introducing himself, “I’m still organizing the Welcome Bash, so feel free to look around ‘til we’re good to go!” Nana and Romeo’s faces lit up at what he announced.

 

Nana, who was nearest to him, asked, “A party? For us? What kind of food are you gonna have? Will it be delicious? I bet it will!” The dreamy look on her face had not gone unnoticed. The blackette had been hearing rumors about the food that the Far East branch served. The best, according to the random articles that were floating around Norn. She was looking forward to confirming that hearsay.

 

Her ‘best friend’ sporting the beanie’s look of delight changed to one of annoyance, “You can’t just blurt that out, Nana! It’s rude.” Brynn no longer stopped herself from rolling her eyes. He was just as rude. Nana didn’t mind anyways, she continued to rain questions on the newcomer.

 

“You’ll have to wait and see!” He teased with a small wink, about to turn around in order to make an exit, “Prep is taking some time since-” He trailed off when his eyes met with brownish green eyes met with the caramel ones that Brynn sported. He blinked a few times, not noticing the warning that Alisa was giving him before pouncing on the girl and pulling her into a tight hug.

“Saerin! You’re alive! Where the heck have you been for so long? They’ve all been telling me that you’re dead but I know that you’re too stubborn to die with just that! And you would never leave when you said that you would watch Bugarally with me!” He continued to ramble on while clutching over to the squirming girl. She pounded her fist on his chest in an attempt to break free, however the male’s excitement was obviously greater than her physical capabilities.

 

‘If I wasn’t dead back then I’m sure that I’ll die of suffocation right now!’ She continued to squirm but the male tightened his grip. 

 

“I’m finally taller than you! We have lots of catching up to-”

 

“Kota!” A loud smack and thud was heard throughout the room. Brynn was no longer suffocating and in an iron grip which was called a ‘hug’. Taking deep breaths, she glanced down at the male who was writhing in pain. On the floor. He was trying to reach for the spot on his back which had been hit by the silvette. 

 

Alisa saw this coming, she hadn’t reacted quickly enough to stop the unit leader from attacking their friend’s doppelganger. She sighed in disappointment for the nth time that day, “She isn’t Saerin, apologize immediately.” She ordered.

 

‘Saerin?’ Brynn couldn’t help but grow even more confused.

 

Kota stood up slowly, managing to regain his composure as he scratched the back of his head. Giving a sheepish grin in the process and held up a peace sign. “I may have gotten overwhelmed, I’m sorry.” He gave a small smile before turning back to the Blood Captain, not waiting for an answer.

 

“I guess that we’ll be seeing each other pretty soon.” He turned on his heel and made his way out, not noticing the death glare that the Blood Captain was discreetly doing.

 

“Geez, why do I feel like adolescent Soma is around.” He mumbled, loud enough for the others to hear as he shut the doors behind him. 

 

The Russian faced Brynn, “I apologize for his behavior, you just resemble a friend that we had before.” She gave a delicate smile that Brynn reciprocated. “I wasn’t expecting him to react in that way however.”

 

Brynn gave a small smile, the small that masked the curiosity that was tearing away at her. Who exactly was this Saerin girl?

 

“We will head out in 30 minutes.” Julius’ voice rang through the hallway the moment that they stepped out of the director’s office. The unit, now devoid of the members of Cradle, were getting ready for the mission that had been assigned to them by the director.

 

Although Brynn was trying to remain focused, she was having some difficulty. First, the curiosity was eating away at her, she wanted to ask but couldn’t bring herself to do so. Second, they haven’t eaten since they arrived. She was dying to try the good food that the branch was presumed to have.

 

She didn’t linger in her thoughts for too long as a stern voice had caused her to blink a couple of times, “I will review the data that the director has provided with Ciel.” Grey eyes were now fixed upon her, “Vice Captain, report to the operator and proceed to the God Arc storage room.” He shot her knowing look. “We will meet you there.” Brynn gave a curt nod, her lips in a thin line. 

 

With that being said, they went their own ways, Ciel and Julius heading to one of the lounge rooms that had been provided for Blood. Nana sprouting something about heading to get some snacks, Romeo chiding her but following anyways. Gil opted to stay on the floor by the vending machine, he would have gone with the Vice Captain, but he knew that his presence wouldn’t be needed.

 

Brynn managed to make her way towards the floor that she had come in, the main lobby. She was once again met with the bustling energy that the area provided, joyful noises that resonated throughout the metallic walls. The smell of cigarette smoke filled the air, causing her nose to crinkle at it.

 

Just when she thought that this place was perfect.

 

She made her way down the stairs which led to the counter. Each step drawing the attention of others, it was most likely because of the foreign uniform that she was wearing, the stoic look on her face. Or perhaps, the way that the uniform hugged her figure. She ignored the piercing and - if she may add - perverted stare that she was getting from a green haired male sitting on one of the couches. 

 

She silently cursed whoever designed the Blood Unit uniform.

 

Finally stood in front of the counter and taking note of an orange haired girl who was busy typing away. Her pale hands brushed against the counter’s cool surface. She took note of how good it felt against her fingers, her lips slightly curled downwards upon remembering the blonde operator back at Friar.eyebrows were furrowed in seriousness and she hastily spoke into the comm that she had on. The platinum haired female waited for her to finish, knowing that she won’t be able to get anything from her in that situation. 

 

“Soma, I’m putting you on hold for a few minutes.” She finally announced and after a couple of seconds, turned to Brynn with a bright smile. “I’m sorry for the wait. I’m Hibari Takeda, I believe that you are from Blood?” 

 

Brynn saw it again. The look of surprise and wonder, however the operator masked it with her professionalism. She shrugged the thought and gave a reply, “Yes, I have to come to sign us up for the mission that has been assigned.”

 

She couldn’t help but think that she sounded like Julius. She must be hanging out with him too much. 

 

The operator, Hibari, gave a curt nod before turning back to her computer screen. She typed away, announcing a few details which Brynn would nod at. She faced the monitor towards the blonde, who began reading the details. 

 

“Gboro-Gboro and Kabbala-Kabbala, hmm…” She read out the names, there were photos beside each Aragami. The Gboro-Gboro had a crystal clear one that would distinguish it. However, the other had a photo that was only an abstract of the colors purple and yellow. She couldn’t decipher what the Aragami looked like. 

 

Not that it mattered, it was indicated that it was an evolved Gboro-Gboro. Another oversized amphibian. 

 

Usually, it was the Research Team’s responsibility to update the database of the Aragami that would be discovered. She actually wondered how they actually managed that. However, since Psions are special cases, the Blood members would be assigned to further assess the Aragami. Thus why Julius and Ciel had been given documents to study.

 

Looks like they’re in for a photoshoot later on. 

 

She quickly memorized the mission details and gave the operator a thanks before heading to the God Arc Storage. She needed to check on her God Arc. 

 

_ Brynn entered the lab with a blank look on her face. A face that was devoid of any emotion, trying to hide the curiosity that it’s bearer was experiencing. She was met with the oversized screen, gold centered decor that the room had, and the lone woman in the wheelchair.  _

 

_ “Hello, Brynn. I apologize for calling you at a time that you are preparing. However, I cannot let this pass.” There was a curl in her pale lips as her blue eyed glimmered with the same whimsical look that it always had. The Vice Captain expected that she would be used to it by now, seeing that face multiple times and engaging with her. It was quite the contrary, she was being more and more uneasy as time would pass.  _

 

_ The other blonde noticed her silence and gestured her hand towards the couch, “Now, now, have a seat. I’ve prepared some biscuits and tea for you. Or would you prefer coffee?”  _

 

_ Although hesitant, Brynn made her way over to the plush couch and took a seat, “I appreciate the hospitality, Dr. Rachel. However, I’ll have to refuse your kindness for now.” She gave a small smile as she examined the other’s covered eyes for any change in emotion. It remained the same, followed by a giggle.  _

 

_ “You have grown, Amaryllis.” She felt a cold run through her as the other said the name. It was always the same reaction. “It’s quite nice to see your development in terms of persona and adroitness in the battlefield. I noticed that you have also labored to craft new God Arc.”  _

 

_ Of course she would have known. Brynn hid the surprise in her face quite skillfully as she answered, “Thank you, Doctor. Yes, I have been trying. Although, I admit that I haven’t been putting them to use.” Rachel’s smile deepened.  _

 

_ “I’m aware. You are quite attached to your Auricle after all. Quite a fine specimen actually. Sadly, we do not have ample time to discuss things deeper, so I must explain why I have summoned you.” The lame woman turned towards the computer screen and picked up the wireless tablet that was placed on the table, alongside with the biscuits which remained untouched. An image of her God Arc appeared along with a few numbers which she couldn’t decipher.  _

 

_ “I would like you to leave your Auricle set here for the meantime.” Her breath got caught in her throat as she bit her lower lip to prevent herself from saying anything. “As mentioned before, studying you in battle would extremely help with the development of the God Arc Soldiers. It has, but the stats coming in are quite slow. Being able to analyze the God Arc itself would allow more information to be revealed and studied.” There was a slight pause before the gold haired woman turned to her again, “That is, if you accede.”  _

 

_ Leave her God Arc? That would mean not just Auricle, but Cuivre and Agrent as well. Could she really do that? Her God Arc was her partner her crime, what kept her safe and capable of slaying aragami. Although she couldn’t exactly remember, she knew that she had gone through a lot with it.  _

 

_ ‘But, it would help with the God Arc Soldiers, right?’ She began to ponder. ‘That would mean, less casualties for the God Eaters that were to be sent to battle.’  _

 

_ It was with that thought and she finally knew her answer. _

 

_ “You’ll keep him safe, right?” She had always referred to her God Arc as a him. Even Rachel wasn’t faced by the personification that she had just given.  _

 

_ “Of course,” she reassured the younger blonde, “he will be safe.”  _

 

_ She had been dismissed and had just walked out of a room, there was sorrow in her face, but somehow she knew that what she had done would help them in the future. As she turned towards the elevator, a familiar figure had caught her attention.  _

 

_ “Oh~ You’re being quite obedient, Eos!” There stood the brunette, a twisted smile on her face as she acknowledged the Vice Captain. She had been standing in front of the elevator, and judging by her appearance, she had been waiting.  _

 

_ “Why are you here?” Brynn asked in annoyance, she was holding herself back. Just a little more and she would throw the mysterious woman over the railings.  _

 

_ The brunette put her hands up in the air in a mocking manner, “Calm down, keep that face up and you’ll end up with wrinkles before you turn 25.” She growled. “That is, if you live until your 20s.” There was amusement dripping in her voice. Brynn sighed, she knew that she was baiting her. She wouldn’t fall for it.  _

 

_ “Whatever,” she walked towards the elevator, but had been blocked by the slightly taller woman, “what do you want?” She asked in a calmer manner. Nessa cracked a grin.  _

 

_ “You’re really something, Eos. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that I feel nicer.” Brynn rolled her eyes at this but said nothing. “I’ve decided to let you have glimpses of your past from time to time instead of just surprising you with one 64gb of stored memory.” Before Brynn could respond, a finger had been brought up to her lips, “Not only that, we also have a bonus! In the process, you will also keep your precious Astraeus.”  _

 

_ Brynn’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, who was Astraeus anyways? And what’s up with the new ‘prizes’ that the girl was offering her. She knew something was off, but before she could protest, the strange woman walked in the direction that lead to the lab. “That’s it for today! Got to go, Eos! Keep up the goodwork.  _

 

_ She wanted to grab her, to further inquire, but something had been preventing her from doing so. She couldn’t understand what she was feeling, could it be? _

 

_ “Too bad she didn’t know that you liked sweets, huh?” _

 

_ Fear. She was feeling fear.  _

  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
